Posted on March 9, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Read Your Palm Responsibly

From soaps, candles and bath and beauty products to ice cream and bread…palm oil is used in products we consume every day.

But the back story of palm oil tells an ugly environmental tale.  Life-giving tropical rainforests are being burned and cleared for expanding palm plantations. Just one more reason why it’s super important to know where the ingredients in the products you buy actually come from.

We turned to the World Wildlife Foundation, one of the fiercest advocates for sustainable palm oil, to learn more about large scale palm oil production:

• The world’s most biodiverse tropical rainforests are found in Malaysia and Indonesia, where the land is being devastated every day to create oil palm plantations.
• Clearing these forests creates inhospitable habitats for the region’s wildlife, including tigers, rhinoceros, elephants, and orangutans, the most threatened animals.
• Oil plantations erode the land and use fertilizers and pesticides that pollute the air, soil and water.

Buyer Beware

Don’t let irresponsibly grown palm oil ooze into your green beauty care routine.  You can do two things when it comes to taking a stand against it:

1. Avoid personal care brands that include palm oil in their products and opt for responsibly sourced products from full disclosure beauty and bath companies like Napa Valley Bath.

2. Write to your favorite retailers and manufacturers (with online access, it’s easy) and ask them to use Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) in their products.

Scroll down this list to see brands and products that source palm oil responsibly including The Body Shop and LUSH soaps. Kudos to these types of caring companies who join Napa Valley Bath and St. Helena Olive Oil Co. in sustainable, responsible, and earth-friendly agricultural practices!