Sports Shoes Help Sustainable Rubber in Brazil
2023-01-26
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1Veja shoes are sold at famous stores all over the world.
2The company that makes them is French.
3But the shoes are made in Brazil.
4Over the last 20 years, Veja has sold more than 8 million pairs of shoes.
5The company uses rubber from trees that come from Brazil's Amazon rainforest.
6The shoes are put together by workers in cities who are paid more than most factory workers.
7The company needs a lot of rubber.
8Unlike some businesses that need rubber, Veja pays extra and asks the people to carefully, or sustainably, harvest the rubber.
9Collecting the rubber in this way permits the trees to keep growing and producing rubber.
10The workers who harvest the rubber are known as "tappers."
11Rubber was once a product that was important to the Brazilian economy.
12But over the last 100 years its importance has declined along with the price of rubber.
13Some Asian countries planted rubber trees many years ago.
14About 100 years ago, they started selling rubber into the world market. Rubber prices sank because of the large Asian supply.
15During World War II, Japan removed its rubber from the market.
16That is the last time Brazilian rubber returned high prices.
17By the 1970s, some Brazilian landowners started selling the parts of the forest with a lot of rubber trees.
18Farmers who raise cows are called cattle ranchers. The ranchers wanted to remove the trees and bring in cows.
19Over time, the rainforest got smaller and smaller.
20Some rubber tappers protested the change.
21They said ranchers were illegally cutting down rubber tress.
22The conflict became violent.
23The tappers' leader, environmentalist Chico Mendes, was murdered in 1988 for pushing back against the cattle farmers.
24After Mendes' death, Brazil's government created areas where rubber trees would be protected.
25The forest in these areas could not be sold to make way for cattle.
26This meant rubber tappers were able to continue their work.
27The Chico Mendes reserve is one of these areas.
28Raimundo Mendes is 77 years old.
29He has worked his whole life as a rubber tapper.
30His 24-year-old son Rogerio is also a rubber tapper.
31They both collect rubber that Veja uses for its shoes.
32In 2022, they were paid over $4 per kilogram for their rubber.
33That is 10 times more than they earned in the past.
34Rogerio said Veja's money is making some young people return to tapping rubber.
35"They have rekindled the hope of working with rubber," he said.
36Veja also pays extra money to groups of rubber farmers.
37These groups are known as cooperatives.
38The workers promise to take care of the trees and the environment.
39The workers in the cooperatives get paid money and also receive Veja shoes.
40Veja's rubber comes from 1,200 families from 22 local cooperatives spread across five Brazilian states within the Amazon.
41The states are Amazonas, Rondonia, Mato Gross, Pará and Acre - home of the Chico Mendes reserve.
42All the rubber goes to a factory, where it is refined so it can be used in the shoes.
43Later, it goes to a shoemaking factory where workers build the shoes out of cotton and leather and then add the rubber to the shoe bottoms.
44Even with Veja's success, there are still problems with deforestation in the Amazon.
45Though it is protected by the government, the Chico Mendes reserve is getting smaller.
46Cattle ranching is still much more valuable to the economy in Acre state than growing rubber.
47Cattle makes up 57 percent of Acre's economy, while rubber makes up just 1 percent.
48That comes from a study by Minas Gerais Federal University.
49Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro supported cattle ranching over sustainable farming.
50About half the workers in the rural part of Acre are involved in cattle ranching.
51Veja uses a special satellite system to keep watch of the Chico Mendes reserve.
52The company looks for illegal land clearing.
53Sebastiao Perera works for Veja to look after the rubber supply.
54He said Veja will see the deforestation on the satellite images and go there to speak with the ranchers.
55All they can really do is "offer an alternative and raise awareness" about a different kind of work.
56He added that the company knows "public authority should be doing the law enforcement."
57I'm Dan Friedell.
1Veja shoes are sold at famous stores all over the world. The company that makes them is French. But the shoes are made in Brazil. 2Over the last 20 years, Veja has sold more than 8 million pairs of shoes. 3The company uses rubber from trees that come from Brazil's Amazon rainforest. The shoes are put together by workers in cities who are paid more than most factory workers. 4The company needs a lot of rubber. Unlike some businesses that need rubber, Veja pays extra and asks the people to carefully, or sustainably, harvest the rubber. 5Collecting the rubber in this way permits the trees to keep growing and producing rubber. The workers who harvest the rubber are known as "tappers." 6Rubber was once a product that was important to the Brazilian economy. But over the last 100 years its importance has declined along with the price of rubber. 7Some Asian countries planted rubber trees many years ago. About 100 years ago, they started selling rubber into the world market. Rubber prices sank because of the large Asian supply. 8During World War II, Japan removed its rubber from the market. That is the last time Brazilian rubber returned high prices. 9By the 1970s, some Brazilian landowners started selling the parts of the forest with a lot of rubber trees. Farmers who raise cows are called cattle ranchers. The ranchers wanted to remove the trees and bring in cows. 10Over time, the rainforest got smaller and smaller. 11Some rubber tappers protested the change. They said ranchers were illegally cutting down rubber tress. The conflict became violent. The tappers' leader, environmentalist Chico Mendes, was murdered in 1988 for pushing back against the cattle farmers. 12After Mendes' death, Brazil's government created areas where rubber trees would be protected. The forest in these areas could not be sold to make way for cattle. This meant rubber tappers were able to continue their work. The Chico Mendes reserve is one of these areas. 13Raimundo Mendes is 77 years old. He has worked his whole life as a rubber tapper. His 24-year-old son Rogerio is also a rubber tapper. They both collect rubber that Veja uses for its shoes. In 2022, they were paid over $4 per kilogram for their rubber. That is 10 times more than they earned in the past. 14Rogerio said Veja's money is making some young people return to tapping rubber. "They have rekindled the hope of working with rubber," he said. 15Veja also pays extra money to groups of rubber farmers. These groups are known as cooperatives. The workers promise to take care of the trees and the environment. The workers in the cooperatives get paid money and also receive Veja shoes. 16Veja's rubber comes from 1,200 families from 22 local cooperatives spread across five Brazilian states within the Amazon. The states are Amazonas, Rondonia, Mato Gross, Pará and Acre - home of the Chico Mendes reserve. 17All the rubber goes to a factory, where it is refined so it can be used in the shoes. Later, it goes to a shoemaking factory where workers build the shoes out of cotton and leather and then add the rubber to the shoe bottoms. 18Even with Veja's success, there are still problems with deforestation in the Amazon. Though it is protected by the government, the Chico Mendes reserve is getting smaller. Cattle ranching is still much more valuable to the economy in Acre state than growing rubber. Cattle makes up 57 percent of Acre's economy, while rubber makes up just 1 percent. That comes from a study by Minas Gerais Federal University. 19Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro supported cattle ranching over sustainable farming. About half the workers in the rural part of Acre are involved in cattle ranching. 20Veja uses a special satellite system to keep watch of the Chico Mendes reserve. The company looks for illegal land clearing. 21Sebastiao Perera works for Veja to look after the rubber supply. He said Veja will see the deforestation on the satellite images and go there to speak with the ranchers. All they can really do is "offer an alternative and raise awareness" about a different kind of work. 22He added that the company knows "public authority should be doing the law enforcement." 23I'm Dan Friedell. 24Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 25______________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27pair -n. a set of two items 28rekindle -v. a light a fire, or cause interest where there was none 29refine -v. to process something and take out impurities so it can be used for something else 30deforest -v. to cut down trees or clear land for other uses such as farming or ranching 31alternative -n. something different 32awareness -n. the state of paying attention to something 33authority -n. a leadership figure or government 34_____________________________________________________________ 35We want to hear from you. 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