Tinderflint and WWF-UK head to India to tackle pollution in the Ganges River Basin.

The Ganga river basin has been the home of tanneries for years but the pollution from the leather production process  has affected the wildlife and quality of water that is relied on by  many people, with an estimated 286 million litres of effluent discharged into the river every day. Whilst the problem is significant, many tannery owners, with the help of WWF and key stakeholders like HSBC and Matalan, have been improving practices which has been helping them save on costs and reduce the impact of leather production on communities and nature.

For a week in October 2017, rostered director James Lovick alongside Tinderflint’s Co-Founder and DOP Jeremy Wright travelled out to Kanpur to interview tannery owners, shoot on the river and capture some of the stunning wildlife the Ganges has to offer. They also shot for three days in the UK to interview key partners from the Leather Buyers Platform.

James Lovick said “Working on this project with WWF & Tinderflint was a real pleasure. For both myself and Director of Photography, Jeremy Wright, seeing at first hand the effects of the leather Industry and water pollution in the Ganges was quite alarming. I hope that this film has the necessary impact to drive positive change throughout the industry.”

Tinderflint’s Senior Producer Becky Griffiths, who liaised over 12 months with WWF UK, WWF India and the High Commission of India said: “Working with the teams from WWF in both India and the UK on this project was a great experience for us. We’re so pleased to have produced a film that will help raise awareness of the platform and hopefully bring on board some new members.”

Head of Corporate Stewardship: Water at WWF-UK Lucy Lee commented: “We have had a great response to the film, both internally and at the launch event. It’s been circulated to our ambassadors, trustees and our individual donors which is a great opportunity to raise the profile of the work”. The film was screened at an event hosted by HSBC to encourage other businesses to join the platform and will be used by WWF Germany and WWF US to raise awareness of the impact of leather production and the positive action being taken to drive change. 

Tinderflint is a London based production agency and have recently been shooting spots with Kenwood, PG Tips and Tommy’s.