Palm oil: to use or not to use…
…that is the question. (With apologies to Shakespeare.) If you have bought hand made soap for a few years you are likely aware of the explosive controversy regarding Palm Oil. Palm deforestation has been used as the poster child, so to speak, of environmental destruction. The basic debate is about deforestation of one of the world’s most biodiverse forests, which is the habitat of species like the Orangutang, Pygmy Elephant and Sumatran Rhino. For years palm forests were often stripped and simply demolished. There was a legitimate concern that these animals would go extinct.
Many soap makers turned to other oils in their soaps. This seems like a simple solution. But is it? Or is it more complex than that?
Like most things, when you dig a little deeper it is actually a little complicated. Sustainable farming practices have long been practiced by the most industrious farmers the world over. And non sustainable practices have always been practiced by non-scrupulous farmers, and always will be.
The oil itself is valued for soap due to the fact that the combination of the fatty acids in Coconut Oil and Palm Oil make for a very bubbly, nourishingly good lather, and a hard bar of soap. It is actually impossible to replace as far as quality. But there are many factors to be considered other than the sheer fact that Palm Oil is one of the best soaping oils.
Another consideration is that Palm Oil plantations also exist largely because they take a fraction of the land to produce oil! The Palm tree is extremely productive. For example, it takes roughly eight times as much land to produce the same amount of soybean oil, and almost five times as much land to produce the same amount of Canola (While not exactly the same it is AKA Rapeseed) Oil! Vegetable oils are a fact of life and it actually appears in many respects to be stewarding the land well to use Palm oil. Any other oil would require MORE land to farm, not less as some would imply.
Another important factor that must be considered is that the heavy use of Palm Oil has lifted many in the Palm Oil plantation areas from poverty. The tropical areas where the oil is farmed has been a historically poor one and the production of the oil has been good for the economy.
While deforestation was, in all probability, a real concern a few years ago, Sustainable Palm Oil initiatives have brought the issue to light and there are plenty of plantations now using non-deforestation and fair trade practices. The Sustainable Palm Oil Certifiers ban deforestation practices. We have chosen to go the route of supporting the Palm farmers by using this great soaping oil, and using only certified Sustainable Palm Oil. To us it’s a win, win.
Hope Toole
May 2024