Beauty & Wellbeing Market Report - Flipbook - Page 18
Palm oil – understanding the
environmental impact
on the environment and communities in palm oil-producing
regions. The Soil Association COSMOS standards insist on the
use of certified sustainable palm oil and palm derivatives in
organic and natural beauty products.
Palm oil is an ingredient used in a wide variety of beauty products
to help provide moisturising and texturizing properties. However,
its environmental reputation and discussions on how this
ingredient impacts climate change has given the ingredient a
bad name.
Unfortunately it’s not currently possible to source palm or palm
derivatives from organic sources due to availability. Therefore
the Soil Association, working in partnership with COSMOS,
introduced a new standard on CSPO palm oil derivatives, to
ensure all palm oil and as many palm oil derivatives as possible
used in certified products are from certified sustainable sources.
We are continuing to improve this standard.
Over the last 30 years, 50% of palm oil plantation growth has
come at the expense of tropical rainforest and peatland28,
destroying ecosystems and pushing wildlife such as the
endangered orangutan to the brink of extinction. It is however
an efficiently produced oil with limited wastage, providing
a living for many workers, small holdings and households.
Therefore, the Soil Association and COSMOS made the
decision to support the use of certified sustainable palm
oil ingredients.
Sustainable initiatives such as Action for Sustainable Derivatives
(ASD), which launched in 2019, represent important steps towards
more responsible and sustainable sourcing of palm oil based on
fair partnerships with local farmers and the protection of natural
resources. The not-for-profit organisation RSPO (Roundtable
on sustainable palm oil) has developed a set of environmental
and social criteria which companies must comply with in order
to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). These criteria
can help to minimize the negative impact of palm oil cultivation
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Ethical considerations such as those with palm oil resonate
highly with consumers and 47% of adults now consider how
ethical a company or brand is before buying its products29. When
it comes to palm oil, our research found that it was the number
two reason why 40% of consumers think beauty and wellbeing
products are bad for the environment30.
47%
of consumers now
consider how ethical
a company or brand
is before buying its
products
Selected certified Brands like
Lucy Bee Skincare have
chosen not to use palm oil
or ingredients derived from
palm oil in their products,
opting instead to use organic
coconut oil, which can be
produced using agroforestry
methods, benefitting farmers,
biodiversity and wildlife.
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