Don't Be Fooled By "Sustainable" Palm Oil Claims

When we talk about eliminating all palm oil and palm oil derivatives from our natural soaps and lotions, we often get the question: "What about sustainable palm oil? Is it still a problem?" Sadly, the answer is yes—sustainable palm oil isn't what it claims to be, and we don't trust it on labels. Here's why.

Many plantations that produce “sustainable palm oil” have enabled deforestation and climate change, making certifications virtually meaningless. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil—the "watchdog" group behind many "sustainable" palm certifications—does not rule out the clearing of rainforest. Only primary and 'high conservation value' (HCV) forests have been considered off-limits for palm oil plantations under the label. The problem? An internationally recognized definition of HCV areas has not been established, however, and the transitions between primary and secondary rainforests are blurred in practice.

“We’ve seen that even when operations are certified as sustainable, there is still significant forest loss,” says Roberto Cazzolla Gatti a research associate at the Forest Advanced Computing and Artificial Intelligence Lab of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. “It seems that there is no way to sustainably produce palm oil to meet today’s global demand. No shortcuts: if you use palm oil, certified or not, you are definitely destroying tropical forests.”

Climate protection is also a consideration that the RSPO ignores completely. Greenpeace International considers RSPO to be 'little more than greenwash'. In our view, the label essentially deceives the public, and many reputable rainforest preservation organizations agree. That's why we refuse to use any palm or palm oil derivatives to avoid the murkiness of the "sustainability" issue completely!

In our books, truly sustainable palm oil needs to be produced without contributing to deforestation, species extinction, high greenhouse gas emissions, and human rights violations. So far, the palm oil industry is failing our world, so we are taking the high ground and avoiding palm oil (and palm oil derivatives) all together with our 100% palm oil-free soaps and lotions.

So don't be fooled by the idea of "sustainable" palm oil—it's BS. 💩

We know it’s hard to limit the use of palm oil, but we need to embrace doing the hard things to save our planet before it’s too late. It was nearly impossible to find high-quality, palm-free soap, lotions, and personal care products. Until now. We did the hard work to take ALL palm oil and palm oil derivatives out of our soaps and lotions, and give you our promise that our products will always be 100% palm oil free. It’s hard to go palm-free, but it’s the right thing do do—and we’re here to help make it a little easier.