Owner of Timberland and Vans will no longer buy Brazilian leather

Timberland shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy. [Reuters]

The U.S. parent company of Timberland, Vans and Kipling will no longer buy Brazilian leather, it said on Thursday, as continuing forest fires in the Amazon raise questions about ecological stewardship in the world’s largest rainforest.

Thousands of forest fires in the Amazon have been raging for weeks, which has already led to heightened scrutiny of Brazil’s beef industry, one of the country’s main economic engines.