The Body Shops Latest Initiative: Sustainable Palm Oil

Last week, The Body Shop announced a ground breaking development for the cosmetics industry and is urging other manufacturers and retailers to
follow their lead.

The Body Shop is now the first beauty retailer to introduce sustainable palm oil into the industry. This is a major development for not only The Body Shop, but for the entire cosmetic and toiletry industry.

I had no idea what extracting palm oil from trees is doing to the rains forests, specifically those in South East Asia. Endangered animal species such as orang-utans, Sumatran rhinoceros and Asian elephant and tigers, are heading towards extinction due to the loss of their natural habitat.

The Body Shop is doing this by working in partnership with Daabon, a certified organic producer in Colombia, which works extensively with local cooperatives.

Peter Saunders, CEO of The Body Shop stated, “Many people who use soap everyday will be unaware that they are contributing to a major environmental catastrophe: the destruction of ancient rain forests and the extinction of endangered species.”.

Consumers do not realize how much Palm Oil they use on a daily basis. It is one of the world’s most popular vegetable oils. It is used in countless everyday items including cosmetics, household products and foods and is regularly consumed by over a billion people worldwide.

I applaud this effort by The Body Shop, and we need to follow up and urge others to do the same. I really hope that others in the industry follow as well.