Goat Milk Soap and Skincare

I choose not to use palm oil in any of my goat milk soaps and skincare products. Why? Because like you, I care about the environment we live in and would like to protect natural vegetation, native animals such as orang-utans, tigers and elephants, and the people of the villages whose land is being destroyed to produce palm oil. Rainforests which are being destroyed at an alarming rate are vital to the Earth's weather and are a vital ingredient for the regulation of temperature and weather patterns far beyond the forests themselves. In addition they remove carbon dioxide which is the predominant global warming gas, store huge amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, and release oxygen that we breathe.

The palm fruit which produces palm oil is in great world-wide demand because it is cheap to produce and relatively cheap to buy which is why so many products contain it.  It is often referred to as 'vegetable oil'. The palm fruit is widely used by cosmetic companies and bio-diesel companies to the detriment of the natural habitat of orang-utans, the Sumatran rhino and tiger, and to the detriment of village women who have to walk further distances for firewood and to graze their animals.

I am not sufficiently convinced of the authenticity of much of the sustainable palm oil being sold to consider using it in my products. The Rountable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) relies on members self-assessment and voluntary standards to determine sustainability and has failed to include criteria on carbon emissions in its sustainable palm oil criteria.

The following links give some good background information about palm oil:

Orangutans.com.au

http://redapes.org/deforestation-palm-oil/palm-oil-tested-on-sustainability/
http://www.palmoilaction.org.au/pages/shopping-guide.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/18/palm-oil-biofuels-eu-plan

Please also sign the Don’t Palm Us Off petition being run by Zoos Victoria.

It wasn’t too hard to find quality substitutes for palm oil in my products and although the substitute ingredients are more expensive, I have not passed this added cost on to my customers.