Sustainable tannin

Gran Chaco: the forest falling for “sustainable” tannin

Behind vegetable tanning of leather hides lies silent deforestation: irregular permits, opaque supply chains, and indigenous communities losing their lands as the Chaco ecosystem is destroyed for export.

🌍 The article highlights the ecological crisis engulfing the Argentine Gran Chaco, South America’s second-largest forest. This region, known for its rich biodiversity and indigenous communities deeply connected to the land, is now facing severe deforestation driven primarily by tannin production and export.

The tannin extracted from quebracho colorado is highly valued by the leather industry, particularly in Europe. The market is primarily dominated by two companies: Unitan and Indunor, the latter belonging to the Italo-Argentine group Silvateam. Each exports approximately 25,000 tons of plant extract annually. However, a significant portion of their raw material is sourced from unregulated logging.

The 2007 Forest Law, established to safeguard the territory through zones with varying degrees of protection, is routinely bypassed. Logging permits and transport “guides” are issued in volumes surpassing the actual forest capacity, transforming illegal timber into seemingly legitimate material. An analysis of more than 120,000 documents reveals that up to 40,000 tons of wood annually destined for tannin factories originate from suspicious or clearly illegal sources.

Satellite photo comparison of Chaco Province
Over just a few decades, the region has undergone near-total deforestation.

The consequences are dire: ecosystems become fragmented, habitats and species vanish, wildfires spread, and soils deteriorate. Indigenous communities witness the loss of their sacred lands and vital resources, while new roads and extractive operations pave the way for exploitation and conflict.

Meanwhile, in Europe, tannin is marketed as a “sustainable” alternative for vegetable tanning of leather, masking the environmental damage involved in its production.

The investigation reveals one of the many hidden costs of globalization: a supply chain that converts an ancient forest into a commodity, threatening one of the continent’s most valuable ecosystems.

Read the full article from Fatto Quotidiano:
In morte di una foresta. Così l’esportazione del tannino sta distruggendo l’ecosistema del Chaco argentino