Palm Oil, Soaps and Detergents: The Tropical Rainforest Link
What’s the Problem?
Significant ecological and social damage is occurring as a result of tropical forest clearances linked with the introduction of new palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the world's second largest oil palm exporter, a million hectares a year are being converted to oil palm plantations — an area the size of East Anglia — planted in vast monocultures where rainforest stood.
Over 80% of palm oil is used in food products, which we do not generally stock. However, palm oil and palm kernel oil is also used in candles, soaps and detergents and has been chosen by many in the natural products industry as a better option to petroleum based products.
Natural Collection has carried out extensive research into the palm oil issue. Our findings tell us that the problem is extremely complicated.
When asked, many small manufacturers of natural soaps and detergents etc cannot or are not able to trace the original source of the palm oil at all. This is because when the original oil is produced it goes through a chain of processes that makes it very hard to follow.
The big palm oil processors mix oils from all sorts of regions (some of which are good palm sources) and the oil goes to refineries, and then to surfactant factories, and then on to distribution chains that will finally sell to smaller distributors who eventually supply the small manufacturers that you and we would buy from. The problem, therefore is that to avoid palm oil from regions where tropical forests clearance is taking place is not just a case of boycotting products with palm oil in them. There are so many products containing palm oil that this would be unrealistic! As well as this palm oil is indeed a good alternative to petroleum based products and all the wrong suppliers such as the small natural and alternative suppliers would be the ones affected if one just stopped buying palm oil.
In response to our findings we wrote to all our suppliers explaining the palm oil issue. Our aim was to try to encourage suppliers to try wherever possible to examine the source of their products.
Given the scale of the problem, we believe the best option is to campaign at government level where there is the power to influence the major importers and processors at source. Friends of the Earth have already started an effective campaign at this level and we wish them every success.
We now stock more palm-friendly alternatives than ever before -- mostly our soaps made from organic palm oil, and products that use no palm at all, such as our olive soaps.
Palm oil is also used in the manufacture of surfactants, so if you want a palm-free laundry, try out our soap nuts which work well and are as natural as you can get or even Hypoallergenic T-Wave Laundry Disks which clean your washing using only activated ceramics.