Maybe you think I'm fussy because I don't want mass market cosmetics, because my preferred purveyor of all things soapy is LUSH. There is good reason for my insistence. For instance, LUSH is in the process of eliminating all palm oil from all of its products because the environmental and social impact of using it is enormous!
During a recent trip to Indonesia to explore the palm oil industry, we witnessed firsthand the grave impact it has on Asian rainforests, wildlife and indigenous people - massive deforestation, Indigenous peoples being forced from their homes and the orangutans being pushed to the brink of extinction.As our beliefs are at the heart of everything we do, we knew that we had to take action immediately and minimize our use of palm oil, (and hopefully save some rainforests along the way). The cosmetics industry uses approximately 6-7% of the world’s palm oil, and it’s a main ingredient in many soaps. Upon our return from Indonesia we rushed back to the LUSH labs and for almost a year worked in partnership with a leading UK soap-base manufacturer, Kay’s, to develop the world’s first commercially available palm-free soap base. Cracking this formula wasn’t easy, but after a lot of sweat we’ve finally got it right.
LUSH North America has now switched all of its soap production to this new palm-free base, and we are also using palm-free glycerin. Our end goal is to remove palm oil from all of our products, and we are currently investigating our surfactants which might be palm oil derived. Here at LUSH we understand that if the rainforests have any chance of surviving, retailers are going to have stop putting palm oil into their products.
As long as companies continue using palm oil, the Indonesian and Malaysian governments will allow the clearing and burning of rainforests to develop new plantations. Oil palm trees are so lucrative that governments and businesses only see dollar signs.
It seems to us that the only way to really tackle this problem is if palm oil becomes less popular. Because so many people want to use palm oil, it simply cannot be produced in a truly sustainable manner. Lush is hoping other business will move away from palm oil, which is why we are willing to share our expertise with anyone that wants to take similar steps. We are proud of our new formula for our palm-free soap base, which is why we want to share it with other soap manufactures. more...
See. I'm not fussy. I'm socially responsible. Do some research; maybe (hopefully) you'll want to make a similar stand with your money.
image via LUSH
