Image courtesy of the Sumatran Orangutan Society

The trouble is, its production is leading to the destruction of massive swathes of rainforest. Campaigners claim that an area equal to six football fields disappears due to unsustainable palm oil production every minute. And it is the single biggest threat to orangutans, who may well be extinct within the next decade if things carry on as they are.

According to Friends of the Earth, rainforest destruction is responsible for one quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. The social impacts are great too – indigenous peoples, who have been living in the forests for thousands of years are fighting for, and losing, their land.

How depressing. So what’s a girl to do? Well, the seemingly most obvious solution is to stop buying products containing palm oil. But it’s not that simple. Helen Buckland of the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) told us:

A boycott wouldn’t be effective because we can’t easily tell which products contain palm oil - most is listed on labels as ‘vegetable oil’ which isn’t necessarily palm.

We need to continue to talk to companies and Governments about sustainable alternatives and more viable ways of growing palm oil.

Thankfully, UK companies are responding and over 140 businesses have joined the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Members are working on a certification system for ’sustainable’ palm oil. Sainsbury’s and the Body Shop have made announcements promising to use sustainable palm oil for their own brand products already.

Campaigning organisations take the view that, while this is a good start, with so much rainforest disappearing so rapidly every day, it is not enough. Kenneth Richter of Friends of the Earth said, ‘RSPO was set up in 2004 and at the time was fully supported by Friends of the Earth. But, unfortunately palm oil production is still increasing.’

This is partly down to a new, controversial use for palm oil as a biofuel. Added to this, Greenpeace says there is currently no credible way of telling whether palm oil is sustainable or not.

But some companies are doing more. Lush has produced a range of palm oil free soaps and is looking to remove it from its products altogether. In her blog in October 2007, Ruth Andrade, Lush’s environmental officer, said:

Even though cosmetics are responsible for just 7 per cent of the world’s production of palm oil, this is another one of those thorny issues where everything we can do to help, no matter how little it seems in the grand scheme of things, is important and should be encouraged.

‘Every small step helps’ is one of Daisy Green’s mantra and so we applaud Lush and other smaller companies that are tackling the issue.

What we can do
We can show our support to all the companies and organisations that are doing something - vote with your purse and your pen. Buy products that are palm oil free (see below) or made with sustainable palm oil. Write to your MP – there’s suggested wording here. Write to the companies who are buying the oil. Tell them that membership of RSPA is a good start but not enough. Ask them to make a concrete commitment to either buying palm oil that is truly sustainable, or phasing it out altogether. Help the organisations (see below) who are campaiging on the issue by offering your time, money – or both.

Palm oil heroes
Little Satsuma offers gorgeous handmade palm oil free soaps and we adore Chokolit’s dark chocolate bar that is free of the oil and donates all of its profits to charities saving the orangutan. Lush sells a selection of palm oil free soaps.

There are many organisations campaigning for more sustainable palm oil production. They include, Friends of the Earth, The Sumatran Orangutan Society, The Ape Alliance (a consortium of organisations) and Greenpeace.

If you know of any more palm oil heroes, please let us know.