DW Documentary

Illegal leather - How the car industry is threatening the rainforest

Brazil’s tannery industry exports products worth 1.5 billion Euros every year. Cattle meat and hides are a huge economic driver. But this business often involves the illegal destruction of the rainforest for grazing land. With footage secretly filmed in abattoirs and interviews with insiders the team retraces the production steps of this illegal leather right to its source. From the Brazilian rainforest, via shady middlemen to German car dealerships offering the latest models by BMW, Mercedes & Co. - complete with their luxurious leather interiors. The film embarks on a journalistic quest for clues that turns into an economic crime thriller. After all, this isn’t an isolated case, it’s systematic environmental exploitation. Despite the many glossy brochures touting the carmakers’ sustainability credentials, these complex supply chains are often opaque - keeping their impact on people and the environment in the dark.