As a follow up to our article on the dirty palm oil industry, we aimed to compile a list that combines two important considerations for truly cruelty-free and sustainable food and products: that they are vegan, and that they are palm oil-free. Unfortunately there are few companies switching to non-use of palm oil, so we expanded the list to include companies that source ‘certified sustainable’ palm oil or are aiming to in the future.

However, there is growing uncertainty in the green community about the reliability of ‘green’ palm oil, with many environmental organizations including Greenpeace, dubbing all palm oil sources certified by the RSPO and other organizations as ‘greenwash’. Corporate members of the RSPO have been found to be some of the most active companies involved  in deforestation. Other companies however attest that certification is a small but initial step in a wider movement towards addressing the problem of palm oil- in exactly those terms. After deciphering much of the jargon we were sent after inquiring about corporate palm oil policies, we cataloged their replies and provided easy links for readers to contact companies themselves. Although companies that use certified palm are listed on the second list, it’s probably best to avoid palm oil altogether if possible, until the mainstream alternative becomes a truly green, sustainable and environmentally accountable way of sourcing palm oil.

Every company we emailed, bar one, replied within 24 hours of me sending the email. These companies want to know what the consumers want. They want to make money from us and if we ask them not to source palm oil at all, they will certainly take that into account.

Vote With Your Wallet.. 5 Star Brands

Brand Name	Product Type	What They Say	Verdict
Aware	Laundry products	‘Launched on World Animal day 2010, Planet Ark’s Palm Oil Free campaign was made possible through the generous support of Aware – the first palm oil-free laundry products available in major supermarkets.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Booja Booja	Chocolates	‘We do not use palm oil in our products.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Divine Chocolate	Chocolate	‘In the interests of protecting the rainforest, Divine does not use any palm oil in its chocolate, and aims not to use any additional ingredients that contain palm oil. To that end we are working to detect any ingredient that may contain palm oil and are looking for alternatives.  If we ever decide to make an exception to this approach it will be with independently audited traceable and sustainable palm oil, and will make this clear on any packaging.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Dorset Cereals	Cereal	‘We have been phasing out the use of Palm Oil at Dorset Cereals and we now DO NOT use Palm Oil in any of our recipes. We have carried out extensive research into this are and have made the decision to remove Palm Pol, of any sort, from our supply chain.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Essential Care	Bodycare products	‘We definitely do not and never have used palm oil in any of our products.  If you check the top of the home page on the website – ingredients being a tab – this will give you all the ingredients we currently use.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Funky Chocolat	Chocolate	‘Funky Chocolat was created to raise money to help Animals Globally, not only by being POF (palm oil free) Vegan product but by distributing the money made from the sale of them to organisations within Australia and around the world who make the world a better place for ANIMALS.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Honesty Cosmetics	Cosmetics, deodorants, soaps, cleaning products	‘Honesty Cosmetics are BUAV approved and registered with the Vegan Society, with a 1976 fixed cut off date (FCOD) and contain no palm oil. Our Faith in Nature products have a 1988 FCOD.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
LaMari	Cosmetics, bodycare	‘LaMari is totally palm oil free!’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Little Satsuma	Soaps	Palm oil free soap. 10p from every soap sold goes to the Orangutan Foundation + 20% discount to everyone who purchases a copy of the Naturewatch Compassionate Shopping Guide!	Brilliant. 5 stars!
LUSH	Cosmetics, toiletries, soaps, ‘bath bombs’	Palm-oil free. ‘If everyone reduced their use of palm oil by 50% and boycotted any biofuels using it, then it could be a sustainable oil. There’s not enough time to sit and pontificate – the public need to put pressure on manufacturers now… We believe that until global levels of palm use are cut dramatically, there is little hope of a workable sustainable palm oil industry, and the future of the forests, animals and people of Indonesia and Malaysia is bleak.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Mooncup	Women’s products	‘The Mooncup is completely animal product free and rest assured that no palm oil is used either.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Natural Spa Supplies	Bodycare products	‘Our products are definitely palm oil free. We only have two soaps one is made with 100% British grown hemp oil and the other with olive oil. Both are very sustainable.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Pure Nuff Stuff	Soaps, bodycare products	‘We do not use palm oil in any of our products.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Redwood Cheezly	Vegan cheese	‘NO palm oil.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
RSPB	Soaps, bodycare products, chocolate	‘Palm Oil is not used in any of our products.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Tofurkey	Vegan Meats	‘Our products are Palm Oil free. We used to use sustainably produced palm oil in one product (our Tofurky Roast) but that ingredient was eliminated last year, however, unfortunately the product packaging was not appropriately updated. That product does have a two year shelf-life, so you may still see Tofurky Roasts and Tofurky Feasts on the shelves that have palm oil listed in the ingredients until next year. I assure you, though, that the actual product does not contain any.	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Vegusto	Soy-free vegan cheeses	‘We don’t use palm oil or phosphates. We use coconut oil instead of palm oil.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Woadworks	Soaps, bodycare	‘Palm Oil free soaps, salves, skin and bodycare.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!
Yaoh	Soaps, bodycare, sunscreen, seed oils organic hemp products	‘We use hemp oil and coconut oil instead.’	Brilliant. 5 stars!

In Need of a Helping Hand.. Nudge Them in the Right Direction

Pressure Them

These companies are desperately in need of pressure from you, the consumer.

The List Goes On

This list is not all-inclusive – in fact it’s just a start. According to Greenpeace, Unilever, Cadbury’s, Nestle, Tesco and palm oil traders Cargill and ADM together represent 40% of the global palm oil trade. That’s a lot of rainforest deforestation and habitat destruction in the hands of just a few large companies.

Don’t feel helpless after reading about the horrific impact of the palm oil industry – you can do a lot with just these lists. Email companies to ask that they reduce their consumption of palm oil, or to go palm oil-free altogether. Or you can do more. Consider checking up on the companies that make the products you use, particularly food items as that is where most palm oil ends up. If the company offers you greenwash or is strangely silent on the issue, drop them an email to see what their policies on palm oil are. Remember, when it comes to rainforests and the countless species that inhabit them, and whether or not they survive, you – the consumer – hold the power. So use your consumer vote. And good luck!

See a brand/product missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below!

Image Source: VeganBaking.net/Flickr