About this episode

The episode discusses sustainable supply chains and efforts to preserve the Amazon rainforest while profiting from its resources.

The Amazon is the world's biggest tropical rainforest, spanning across nine countries in South America. It is a major source of biodiversity and plant life, containing around one tenth of the world’s known species and over a billion acres of dense forest. But for decades now, this vital resource has been under threat. Nearly 20 percent of the Amazon forest has been lost or degraded. This is largely due to deforestation, where people cut down trees and clear land for other, oftentimes more profitable purposes. A significant aspect of reducing deforestation is making it financially viable to keep the forest. But how? In our season finale of the Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, we focus on efforts to make supply chains more sustainable: from the source to the end product. We start in the Amazon, where we look at ways to profit from the rainforest without destroying it. And we end up in the boardroom to hear from the president of the outdoor apparel brand Patagonia. First, we hear from Maria Jose “Chochi” Iturralde, executive director of the nonprofit Fundacion Pachaysana. She helped launch Fundacion Pachaysana, based in Ecuador, to provide financial incentives for local people…

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