Retailer Turned Unlikely Firefighter
The Amazon rainforest has become a raging hellfire, burning many of our climate change efforts to a crisp. The US retail industry may have no firefighting experience whatsoever, but one of its biggest players is still charging the rescue!
Two and a half million square miles of rainforest is going up in flames, and most of the world can only stand and watch. Suspicions have been raised as to the cause of these land-clearing forest fires, especially given how valuable farmable land can be due to the abundant natural resources in the area. That’s why VF Corporation, the holding company of Vans, Timberland, and The North Face, has pulled the plug on Brazilian leather. The business wants to be one hundred percent certain that any money it makes off the region is clean, and doesn’t confuse or corrupt the response to extinguishing those fires!
Most investors with an eye on the environment prioritize “impact” funds, which act as ready-made baskets of stocks, packed full of companies that take their worldly responsibilities extra seriously. However, accountability is spreading, and lines have become blurred for investors. Some shareholders of VF are proud to support the planet, but many others are still staunch businesspeople, unhappy to stomach extra costs unless the customer is watching.
Investors with money to move are at a crossroads, but they better make up their minds quickly! Some believe Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil, would rather fan the flames of personal uproars than rescue his rainforests. He’s accused the French of lying about his climate comments and has only accepted a British donation through gritted-teeth. The Amazon is a hotspot for raw materials. The longer it burns, the longer investors’ profits remain in the firing line. Something’s got to shift, and it’s VF!
