Soapfullness Palm Oil Statement
This can be a hot topic of debate for many people and we understand why. The question can bring about many heated debates and for good reason, because we care and take pride in the environment that we live in.
At Soapfullness we care about our impact upon the environment and the people working in it. Take a look at our packaging page and I hope that you realise that we are taking active steps to reduce our environmental impact that we have.
When it comes to Palm Oil, we have thought long and hard about whether to use it as an ingredient. We have read ‘5 Problems with Sustainable Palm Oil’ via Greenpeace and we have also read ‘Palm oil and orangutans. Learn about the impact of palm oil on orangutans. Is sustainable palm oil better?’ by Orangutans-sos, which is a great insight.
At Soapfullness we have decided that we will only use RSPO Palm Oil. Whilst I know many people do not think the RSPO is a perfect solution, at the moment it is one of the best solutions out there and one that can be worked upon and improved.
Talk about impact of not having palm oil
As Soapfullness grows we will endeavour to provide our customers with Palm free soaps and products, so that you have the choice to decide. However right now, as we are a small start-up with have a limited range, we have decided to included RSPO (Round table on Sustainable Palm Oil) palm oil in our soaps. As we grow, we will ensure that we provide you with the choice and offer palm free soaps. So, if we aren’t a right fit for you now, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with the news and product ranges.
What is Palm Oil?
Palm oil is one of the most versatile vegetable oils in the world. Palm Oil can be processed to form a wide range of products with different melting points, consistencies and characteristics. Palm Oil is used in around 50% of products consumers purchase and use on a daily basis including food and non food items.
Palm oil is a popular choice because it is a very productive crop which offers greater yields at a lower cost production than any other vegetable oil. It is reported by the IUCN that ‘Palm oil produces 35% of all vegetable oil on less than 10% of the land allocated to oil crops.’ ‘It also requires less fertilisers and pesticides than the alternative vegetable oil crops. In the tropics, where palm oil is grown, it has been dubbed the miracle crop by many as it provides opportunities and employment for many, helping to lift people in rural populations out of poverty’ (WWF, 2015).
Palm oil is derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree. The palm fruit yields both palm oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit and Palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed of the fruit. It is reported that over 85% of palm plantations is in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Why do you use Palm Oil at Soapfullness?
Palm oil is very high in Palmitic acid which makes soaps hard, long lasting and helps create a lathery soap. We want you to have soap which feels lovely and is long lasting, which is why we have chosen to only use RSPO palm oil in our products. Palm oil also helps contribute towards making soap lathery.
Ok, so what solution does Soapfullness have to this issue?
Being a small start-up we have decided to only include RSPO Palm Oil in our products. The RSPO stands for the RoundTable on Sustainable Palm Oil:
“The RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria which companies must comply with in order to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). When they are properly applied, these criteria can help to minimize the negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the environment and communities in palm oil-producing regions.”
What is the problem with palm oil?
Palm oil has been a major player in deforestation of some of the world’s most bio-diverse forests. This deforestation is destroying the habitat of endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.
Why does deforestation happen? Demand for land is high and palm oil is one of the most versatile and cheap oils to produce which leads to clearing and logging of trees to make way for palm oil crops.
Due to the increasing demand for Palm Oil in both the food industry and for the booming biofuel production, more land is needed every year for more oil palm trees.
The destruction and deforestation of rainforests contributes large amounts of carbon and methane into the atmosphere, which in turn contributes to climate change. It is reported that palm oil-based biofuels have three times the climate impact of traditional fossil fuels (Rainforest Rescue, 5 minute info – palm oil).
Using Palm Oil sounds very bad, so why do we continue to support such an industry?
We hear you and we have questioned this ourselves, but after extensive research we think boycotting the Palm Oil industry would be detrimental.
The world continues to need vegetable oils and if this doesn’t come from palm oil, we could need nine times more land which could mean more deforestation, more habitat conversion and even greater releases of greenhouse gases. Boycotting palm oil is not the answer! (WWF, 2015).
As it currently stands, oil palms produce roughly 35% of the world’s vegetable oil on less than 10% of the land allocated to oil crops. (Ethical Corp).
That’s why we have decided that we will only use RSPO Palm Oil in our products and by doing this it helps to:
* Fulfill increasing global food demand
* Supports affordable food prices
* Supports Poverty Reduction
* Safeguards social interests, communities and workers
* Protects the environment and wildlife
Find out more about the RSPO here.
So whether you strongly feel passionate about the use of palm oil or whether you don’t have much knowledge on the subject, reading and listening to a broad range of views is a great idea to help you form yours. Here are some articles we enjoyed at Soapfullness:
https://www.orangutans-sos.org/
https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/
https://www.palmoilinvestigations.org/