Why is there so much hype about being palm oil-free?
First, the bad news: The palm oil industry is linked to serious global concerns like habitat degradation and abuse of primates, deforestation, climate change and indigenous rights abuses in areas where palm is sourced.
I believe it’s strikingly antithetical to the intentions of most well-meaning vegans, but it is especially popular as a replacement for butter in vegan foods (especially baked goods). And the use of palm oil has skyrocketed, making it one of the top cash crops worldwide. The numbers on how fast the rainforest is being destroyed to make room for palm oil production are staggering. Considering the overwhelming number of animal and plant species being negatively impacted, or pushed to the brink of extinction, it is truly a shocking and depressing topic.
Unfortunately, palm oil is everywhere. It’s found in almost 50% of household products in the US. It is often used in baked goods, shampoos, cosmetics, detergents, soaps, household cleaning supplies and even toothpastes.
The good news is that there are many fantastic vegetable oil alternatives that are grown safely, sustainably and in harmony with the earth.
And that is what we focus on at Earth Tu Face: solutions.
At Earth Tu Face, we are often asked if it is difficult to make an entirely palm-free line of organic skincare products. The answer is absolutely not. It is as simple as choosing another oil with which to work. Palm oil doesn’t offer anything that other oils don’t. In fact, there many oils that far surpass palm in terms of healing benefits internally and externally for our bodies.
We have been asked if we feel we will need to succumb to the pressure to use palm oil and other ingredients that are not in-line with our ethos as our company grows in size. To us, the size of a business doesn’t mean that ethics have to be compromised. We chose to use sustainable ingredients that are easy to propagate and fast-growing such as lavender, chamomile, geranium, vetiver, coconut oil and olive oil.
We believe there are always win-win solutions and that we can create products that are as supportive to the people using them as they are to the planet creating them.
