Dr. Bronner’s Proves Sustainable Palm Oil Production is Possible!
Fair Trade Project Pioneers Viable Alternative to Destructive Conventional Practices
May 18, 2011
Environmental and sustainability advocates have been carrying out a boycott of Palm Oil and products that contain Palm Oil for the past few years. This is due to wide spread concern that plantations are decimating precious rainforests in South East Asia, displacing and threatening the existence of the Orangutan. However, Dr. Bronner’s – the best selling brand of organic and fair trade soaps world-wide, believes small-scale production of Palm Oil can be fair, profitable and sustainable.
Dr. Bronner’s Organic Body Care is proving that not all palm oil production has to be destructive and that sustainable Palm Oil production is possible. In fact, this eco-warrior, family-owned company strongly believes in the benefits of Palm Oil to the skin and more importantly, the benefits of sustainable Palm Oil to the environment and the communities that grow it.
“We believe that the technical characteristics of Palm Oil give it an important place in organic food and personal care products,” Michael Bronner, Vice President of Dr. Bronner’s explains, “provided the oil is produced under environmentally sustainable and socially responsible conditions.”
Australian beauty experts agree, “We need to support efforts for a sustainable Palm Oil industry and greater supply chain transparency,” says Realize Beauty’s Director of Cosmetic Consultancy, Amanda Foxon-Hill.
“While it is true and devastatingly sad to see rainforests ploughed out in favour of cash crops, we risk shifting rather than solving the problem by ignoring the bigger picture,” she added.
In the case of Palm – not all oil is created equally. It’s up to the consumer to make informed choices about the products they support. Simply boycotting Palm Oil may mean that we shift the problem from a high-yielding crop to another possibly less economic crop that has to grow somewhere. We feel ‘clean’ but somewhere in the world, the problem still exists.
Dr. Bronner’s – Committed to Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm is one of the most chemically rich and diverse oils on offer; providing vitamin E, a wide range of fatty acids, glycerine and oils that contain many other trace nutrients. Dr. Bronner’s uses sustainable, certified organic and Fair Trade Palm Oil in all of their bar soaps. Rest assured, the Palm Oil Dr. Bronner’s uses is harvested from sustainable farmland in Ghana, Africa where there are no orangutans and no rainforests.
Dr. Bronner’s has worked with 100 small growers of sustainable oil Palms in Ghana. Converting them to organic practices and building an “organic only” oil Palm processing plant that is based on the traditional system commonly used by women entrepreneurs.
Dr. Bronner’s Palm Oil project is part of the company’s larger efforts in building fair trade programs for all their major ingredients, including Coconut Oil from Sri Lanka and Olive Oil from Israel and Palestine. This ensures that the numerous people working in the complete processing chain for all their oils will be fairly compensated and a fair trade premium will support local development projects. For Dr. Bronner’s it’s about putting back what you take from the land and its local community.
“We can make a difference by either changing our habits and buying nothing or by supporting a move to sustainable farming. Boycotting Palm in favour of another crop is a bit like cleaning up by shoving stuff under your bed,” concludes Foxon-Hill.
Dr. Bronner’s Pure Organic Castile Bar Soap
Unlike any other soap on the market! A combination of certified organic extra virgin coconut, olive, jojoba and hemp oils, together with pure essential oils, creates a unique soap that cleans effectively without being aggressive. The smooth, velvety lather leaves skin silky and refreshed. Available in: Peppermint, Lavender, Almond, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Unscented Baby-Mild, Rose and Citrus Orange.
RRP $5.95 / 140g Bar
Notes to editor
Dr. Bronner’s products are available at health, natural product and organic stores nationally. Stockist number: 03 9572 3311 or visit Dr. Bronner’s at www.drbronner.com.au
To download a PDF copy of this press release, click here.
For further information on Dr. Bronner’s, product samples or to interview Michael Bronner, Vice President of Dr. Bronner’s or Amanda Foxon-Hill, please contact: Belinda Andrade at PR Chicks 0425 252 822 and [email protected]