The creation of soap recipes is just like cooking:  your options are limitless!  The combination of various oils yield a different type of bar.  Palm oil in soap recipes creates a hard, stable bar of soap that lathers very well.  It is also a very inexpensive ingredient used profusely in commercial soaps.  In large quantities, palm oil can be excessively drying on your skin.

We chose not to include palm oil in our recipes for a more environmentally conscious reason.  Consumption of palm oil has increased dramatically in the past decade.  Though you may not realize it, you most likely have products in your home with palm oil in the ingredients list.  You can find it in chocolate, margarine, cookies, crackers, snacks, and cosmetics (soaps, lipsticks).

Friends of the Earth, a grassroots environmental network, estimated that 87 percent of Malaysia’s deforestation was due to palm oil plantations.  Their researchers also estimated that if nothing is done to alleviate the rising rates of deforestation, orangutans could become extinct within 12 years.  The palm oil trade is destroying orangutan habitats, endangering other rainforest animals, contributing to the high levels of carbon emissions, and has placed Indonesia as possibly having the world’s fastest deforestation rate (Greenpeace sources estimate an area equivalent to 300 soccer fields per hour).

In 2004, The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was created to develop universal standards for the sustainable production of palm oil.  The implementation of these standards continues to be a concern.

While some companies have chosen to use “sustainable palm oil,” we prefer to be completely palm oil free.  Again, just like cooking, soap making provides an outlet where we can creatively express ourselves. Our soaps remain an extension of our commitment to using all natural ingredients, and hopefully our decision to go palm oil free will bring awareness on an issue that is very important to us.  We encourage consumer awareness through research and hope that the next time you open that box of cookies, to think about those affected by what’s inside.