Brazil: Treetap Vegetal Leather
Look like leather? This bag is actually a cotton-based fabric that's rubberized with natural latex sustainably harvested from wild rubber trees in the Amazon Rainforest. The raw rubber is pressed into the cotton backing by the indigenous "Seringeros" (rubber tappers) and Indians that live deep in the Amazon Rainforest.
AmazonLife is a Brazilian fair-trade company that turns this fabric into fashionable products for international markets. When AmazonLife began exporting its products to Europe and elsewhere, it needed to ensure that its uniqueness, a high quality and ecological-harvested imitation leather product, could be promoted and protected from fakes and copying. First, the process for making the Vegetal Leather was protected with a patent; The Seringeros are co-owners of the patented process. Then the Treetap® brand was registered as a trademark. Now, nobody other than AmazonLife can use the Vegetal Leather process or market imitation leather as Treetap. The company has created a valuable brand.
Today, Amazon communities work in 32 production units within the forest and have a guarantee that they can produce and sell 40,000 sheets of wild rubber laminates per year at ten times the previous price. Everyone involved in production is guaranteed a decent wage by the company's fair trade policy and tappers are co-owners of a patented process. They have received Forest Stewardship Council certification, ensuring the long-term sustainable production of the wild rubber. With some 200 families—an approximate 1,000 persons—involved, the product's success has created elevated and sustainable economic opportunities for the people of the Amazon. Their products are now found in some of the world's most exclusive boutiques.
