diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/fontforge/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/fontforge/default.nix
index d5a1bf42a12..ad2820012db 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/fontforge/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/fontforge/default.nix
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
       --replace /usr/include /no-such-path \
       --replace /usr/lib /no-such-path \
       --replace /usr/local /no-such-path \
+
+
+    export NIX_LDFLAGS="$NIX_LDFLAGS -lz"
   '';
 
   buildInputs =