They promote projects for the protection of crocodile and alligator’s species. At the same time, they help projects that protect their natural habitats. They provide local communities with a source of livelihood. There are at least three scientific reasons for believing crocodile bags to be fully sustainable. The report prepared by the Sustainability Department of Boarini Milanesi, an Italian brand of luxury leather goods, explains it. To produce the document, Boarini Milanesi relied on the studies of the IUCN, an organisation that has more than 17,000 scientists and more than 1,400 member organisations, including WWF, the Global Nature Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the CNR .
Three scientific reasons
First of all, fashion in exotic leather helps the projects to safeguard the species it employs themselves, we said. “From 1960 to today, the population of alligators in Louisiana has gone from being in danger of extinction to counting 3-4 million individuals in the wild – writes Boarini Milanesi -. In countries such as Sri Lanka, where plans for the sustainable use of the species are not in place, the Porosus crocodile is considered severely depleted, and the destruction of eggs and habitat is recorded”.
Habitat, precisely. Because the same scheme that protects animal species within the framework of their economic exploitation also protects their territory. “Wetlands, the natural habitat of crocodiles and alligators, are the ecosystem with the best capacity to store carbon – continues the report – and have the ability to reduce the damage caused by tsunamis and floods. However, they are destroyed every day to create agricultural land or tourist settlements.
Sustainable programs for crocodile encourage populations to keep wetlands intact and recreate them where they have been destroyed”. Finally, to local communities themselves, the supply chain guarantees a strategic source of income (and, therefore, of revenue for the Treasury), especially in emerging economies.
Whatever the opponents say
Boarini Milanesi had to defend itself against accusations of “hypocrisy”. Why? “Only” because it promoted an awareness campaign on marine pollution with a bag in precious stones and alligator leather, worth 6 million euros. For some one-sided environmentalists, that’s not how you help the planet. Yet, the reality is more complex than the slogans of the most radical of the greens.
“Buy a crocodile bag and you’ll save five more” is the aphorism of Danzel Natusch, biologist member of the World Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), quoted in the report. “For us, these three points represent the beginning of an information campaign – says Carolina Boarini, co-founder and CEO of Boarini Milanesi -, aimed at dismantling fake news that influence the public opinion, putting at risk this delicate work of safeguard”.
“We do not agree with the choice of some luxury brands to abandon the use of exotic leathers – adds Matteo Rodolfo Milanesi, co-founder and CEO of Boarini Milanesi -. For us, to stop using them would be just a mere marketing move to capture an audience that ignores reality. A serious mistake that would jeopardise the conservation of these species and the well-being of entire communities”.
Image from boarini-milanesi.com
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