Leather impacts are driven by land use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with animal agriculture, as well as the energy use and water consumption requirements of tanneries. The FAO estimates that animal agriculture is responsible for between 14.5% and 18% of global Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, and 65% of this is from cattle (compared to other animal species). In the Amazon, around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years, mostly due to forest conversion for cattle ranching. The livestock sector is the world’s largest user of agricultural land, through grazing and the use of feed crops.
