H&M stops buying leather from Brazil over Amazon fires

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Low-cost fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB says it is suspending leather purchases from Brazil in response to the Amazon fires.

The Stockholm-based group says "a temporary ban on leather from Brazil" was linked to "the severe fires in the Brazilian part of the Amazon rainforest and the connections to cattle production."

H&M said Friday that the ban will remain in place "until there are credible assurances ... that the leather does not contribute to environmental harm in the Amazon."

The group added that "the vast majority" of its leather comes from Europe, and only a small part originates from Brazil.

Last week, the owner of Timberland, Vans and several other shoe and clothing brands said it has stopped buying leather from Brazil because of the rainforest fires.