Press Releases

New York, NY – The increasing demand for palm oil is leading to the wholesale destruction of rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia. Palm oil is found in food products, bio fuels and is a key ingredient in many cosmetics, including soaps. LUSH Cosmetics is announcing its intention to become a palm oil free company, and is now selling a newly formulated soap which is made with a groundbreaking palm-free soap base. As part of the nationwide campaign against palm oil and the continued efforts to find alternatives to palm oil, LUSH is writing to the top 300 companies that use palm oil, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Nestle, asking them to reformulate their products to no longer include this rainforest-destroying ingredient. If any of these companies decide to wash their hands of palm oil, LUSH will supply their headquarters with a year’s supply of soap.

American consumers can play a major role in protecting rainforests by encouraging retailers and politicians to wean themselves off palm oil. In order to reach the public, LUSH has launched a new interactive window display in 48 shops across the U.S. from August 7 to August 28, 2009. Passersby are confronted with a giant palm tree, orangutans and the slogan, ‘Wash your hands of palm’ and are asked to dip their hands in green paint, add their own palm prints to make the leaves on the palm tree, and then to wash their hands with LUSH’s newly formulated soap. Everyone will also receive a free soap sample.

Why is LUSH in a lather over palm oil? Global demand for the oil, a main ingredient in processed foods as well as soaps and cosmetics, is causing the clearing of ancient rainforests to make room for more palm oil plantations. This action forces indigenous people off their land, has pushed orangutans to the brink of extinction and is jeopardizing our eco system. With demand for palm oil increasing and the problem getting worse, LUSH decided the only responsible thing was to reformulate its products. LUSH worked for the past three years to develop a soap base that does not contain palm oil, and now, all LUSH soaps are made with this palm-free base. By switching to a palm-free soap base, LUSH is reducing the amount of palm oil they use by 133,000 pounds or 60.5 metric tons per year – that’s 36.3 acres of primary rainforest saved from destruction. Small traces of palm oil still exist in some LUSH products, but the product creators are working to find creative ways to remove the oil altogether. Accompanying the launch of the public awareness campaign, LUSH is selling a limited-edition soap in the shape of a tree called Jungle. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the Jungle Soap sales will be donated to the Rainforest Foundation, who works with indigenous people to protect their forest homes from expanding palm oil plantations.

While the cosmetics industry uses approximately 6-7 percent of the global supply of palm oil, the biggest current usage is food, with one out of every ten items in the supermarket, from chips and breads to biscuits and margarine, containing this sinister ingredient. LUSH is urging other retailers and manufacturers to cut their palm oil use and is partnering with the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) in an effort to get businesses to source their ingredients responsibly.

“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,” said Brandi Halls, LUSH Communications Manager.

“Palm oil is the high octane fuel that’s literally burning down rainforests all over Southeast Asia,” said Leila Salazar-Lopez of Rainforest Action Network. “In phasing out palm oil from their products, LUSH is pioneering a new way for other companies to do the right thing for the rainforest, forest peoples and the global climate.”

Notes to editor:

- 90 percent of the world’s palm oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia, and the United Nations estimates that palm oil plantations are "now the primary cause of permanent rainforest loss." If action is not immediately taken, in 15 years time 98 percent of the rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia will be gone.
- The expansion of palm oil plantations is now the number one threat to wild orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo. The Sumatran orangutan, listed as ‘critically endangered’, faces imminent extinction with 1,000 vanishing every year. At current rates, the entire population could become extinct in ten years time.
- Palm oil plantations are often forcibly established on land traditionally owned by indigenous peoples, and plantation development has repeatedly been associated with violent conflict.
- Estimates say Indonesia’s peat-land fires, which are set to clear land for new plantations, generate 1,400 million tones of carbon dioxide every year, contributing to its position as the world’s third-largest producer of CO2.
- While LUSH has removed the lion’s share of palm oil from its new soap, traces still remain because palm oil is found in more than just soap noodles--it is also used to make Sodium Stearate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, both common ingredients in soap. Creating a totally palm-free soap is LUSH’s end goal but the task is a large one because it requires action by third-party companies. We are working with our suppliers to find out exactly how much palm oil is in these ingredients, and are looking for ways to remove palm oil from all of our products.
- Established 14 years ago, LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics has been driven by innovation and its ethics. Creators of pioneering beauty products such as the fizzing bath bombs, bubble bars, shower jellies, solid body butters and solid shampoo bars, LUSH places emphasis on fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables and the finest essential oils. LUSH operates a strict policy against animal testing, supports Fair Trade and Community Trade initiatives, and leads the cosmetics industry in combating over-packaging by running public awareness campaigns and developing products that can be sold ‘naked’ to the consumer. LUSH products are 100 percent vegetarian, 74 percent vegan, 65 percent preservative-free and 60 percent free of wasteful packaging with absolutely no animal testing being done on LUSH products or ingredients. These ethics are at the heart of the brand and will remain there with every new shop that opens globally. LUSH has 149 locations in North America with over 600 worldwide in over 40 countries.