Palm Oil - Can it ever be sustainable?

Photo by Nazarizal Mohammad

We do not use palm oil, but why is palm oil considered 'evil'?

Well, according to WWF Australia - Palm oil is grown in the tropics, and clearing for plantations has destroyed vast swathes of rich, green rainforest. Palm oil plantations are expanding more rapidly than almost any other agricultural commodity. Resident species like elephants, orangutans, rhinos and tigers have lost their homes and some Indigenous peoples have fared little better, being forced off their land and robbed of their livelihoods. The felling and burning of trees also exacerbated climate change.

Global production and demand for palm oil is increasing rapidly. Plantations are spreading across Asia, Africa and Latin America, which is threatening the habitats of several endangered species like orangutans, elephants and tigers. Around 90% of the world's oil palm trees are grown on a few islands in Malaysia and Indonesia – islands containing some of the greatest biodiversity on Earth. Here, there is a direct relationship between the growth of oil palm estates and deforestation.  

Intensive palm oil production is also creating all kinds of environmental fall-out, including air, soil and water pollution, and soil erosion. On a regional scale, palm oil production has also been associated with robbing Indigenous people of their land and livelihoods. Globally, it’s making a sizeable contribution to climate change.

So as to not add to the demand for a crop produced by such destructive farming practices we refuse to use any palm oil in our soaps. 

What do you think? Can it ever be sustainable? Comment below.