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COP27 Brazil Sustainable Tannery
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Giant, sustainable rainforest fish is now fashion in America

Until recently, the skin of the pirarucu, the largest fish in the Amazon, had no commercial value

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE
Published - Nov 04, 2022, 08:20 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 23, 2023, 07:39 PM EDT

TRES RIOS, Brazil (AP) — Sometimes you start something and have no idea where it will lead. So it was with Eduardo Filgueiras, a struggling guitarist whose family worked in an unusual business in Rio de Janeiro: They farmed toads. Filgueiras figured out a way to take the small toad skins and fuse them together, creating something large enough to sell.

Meanwhile miles away in the Amazon, a fisherman and a scientist were coming up with an innovation that would help save a key, giant fish that thrives in freshwater lakes alongside Amazon River tributaries.

The ingenuity of these three men is why you can now find a beautiful and unusual sustainable fish leather in upscale New York bags, Texas cowboy boots and in a striking image from Rihanna’s Vogue pregnancy photo shoot, where a red, fish-scaled jacket hangs open above her belly. Sales provide a livable income to hundreds of Amazon families who also keep the forest standing and healthy while it protects their livelihood.

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