Why is palm oil so popular?
A. Palm oil acts as a natural emulsifier and can be used to produce plant-based tensides. It has no particular smell (unlike animal fats), and it creates skin-friendly textures in creams and lotions.
Do you use palm oil in any of your products?
A. Yes we use palm oil in some of our products. The palm oil sourced by Weleda is certified organic and derives exclusively from non-destructive cultivation, sourced under fair working conditions and with guaranteed traceability.
Where do you source your palm oil from?
A. Our palm oil is fairly traded and ethically and sustainably sourced from a one single certified plantation in Brazil (certifications: identity preserved RSPO, organic IBD, Bio Suisse, USDA and JAS).
Can you guarantee palm oil derivatives are sourced sustainably and with guaranteed traceability?
A. As a manufacturer of certified true natural and organic cosmetics, Weleda must often rely on emulsifiers and tensides of natural origin that may partly derive from palm oil and palm kernel oil. With such derivatives, we also take pains to ensure that the relevant raw materials are sourced exclusively from environmentally friendly and socially responsible cultivation. However, a persistent lack of transparency within the market for processed raw materials continues to make it difficult. In the case of derivatives, especially, there is often no separation between certified and conventional starting materials along the supply chain.
Why don't you use alternatives to palm oil in your products?
A. Boycotting palm oil completely is not the best solution. Producers might then lower their prices to increase demand from markets that have less interest in sustainability, thereby reducing the incentive to produce environmentally sustainable palm oil. Or companies could buy alternative oils from other crops (such as coconut, soybean, sunflower or rapeseed oil), which potentially use nine times as much farmland as palm oil, thereby adding to loss of biodiversity and likely more deforestation. Palm accounts for 6.6% of cultivated land for oils and fats, while delivering 38.7% of the output, according to the European Palm Oil Alliance.
Having said that, we continuously investigate opportunities for replacing ingredients based on palm oil and palm kernel oil with sustainable alternatives.
Do you actively work on improving the palm oil industry and bring on change?
A. We strongly believe that the current problems with palm oil cultivation can only be solved by exerting a concerted influence on suppliers to promote sustainable and non-destructive methods of cultivation. Weleda, along with like-minded companies, is a member of FONAP, the forum for sustainable palm oil, which was formed to pursue this goal.
Our membership provides us with a stronger voice in regard to the cultivating countries; it allows us to press for improvements of the sustainability criteria prescribed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO); and it enables us to work across industry- and organisational boundaries to improve conditions for both nature and the human being.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.