MARKET DEVELOPMENT
'Green' Palm Oil? The Body Shop Steps Up
'Green' Palm Oil? The Body Shop Steps Up
13/7/07 (Brandweek.com) NEW YORK -- The Body Shop International became the first cosmetics and toiletries retailer to introduce “sustainable palm oil” into the global beauty industry with its initial launch of soaps in May.
Now it is asking global retailers to help slow the drastic environmental and social effects of unsustainable production and ensure that within the next two to three years, the majority of palm oil is produced sustainably. (Sustainable palm oil production means far less destructive planting methods, and therefore protects rainforest biodiversity.)
“About three years ago we became aware of the continued and rapid destruction of the world’s ancient rainforests caused by irresponsible palm oil production, so we made the move in response to it,” said Jan Buckingham, director, global values, The Body Shop. “Just as with all our other products, if we see there is a better way to do it, we will.” Prior to the move to sustainable palm oil, The Body Shop bought palm oil on the open market.
The next tier of soaps produced with sustainable palm oil will ship this month, the rest by the end of the year. The move, said Buckingham, equates to 14.5 million bars of soap sold annually by The Body Shop in more than 2,200 stores across 57 countries around the world, 300 of which are in the U.S.
U.K.-based The Body Shop partnered with Daabon, a certified organic producer in Columbia, to source sustainable palm oil. The Body Shop sits on the global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which consists of more than 250 organizations, including 20 major retailers, committed to finding solutions to the issues posed by palm oil production. The Body Shop now calls for retailers who have already made this commitment to begin sourcing RSPO certified sustainable palm oil as soon as it become available later this year, and asks more retailers to join the RSPO.
The RSPO developed a set of principles & criteria for the production of sustainable palm oil. “We have the standards ready and we expect a full certification scheme to be finalized by November,” said Rikke Netterstrom, head of ethical policy, The Body Shop.
The Body Shop will have to pay a premium for the palm oil supply from Daabon, but the customers will not see any cost increases. “We’re absorbing the additional costs because it is the right thing to do and it’s worth it,” said Buckingham, who added that they expect the prices to decrease as more companies move to sustainable palm oil.
Aside from educating their employees who will then educate consumers, The Body Shop is not doing any marketing on its own to promote its use of sustainable palm oil at this time. “We don’t want to confuse the issue,” said Netterstrom. “We fully support the RSPO standards and don’t want consumers to think there is more than one so we will wait until everything is in place and they are ready to promote the use of sustainable palm oil globally.”
Now it is asking global retailers to help slow the drastic environmental and social effects of unsustainable production and ensure that within the next two to three years, the majority of palm oil is produced sustainably. (Sustainable palm oil production means far less destructive planting methods, and therefore protects rainforest biodiversity.)
“About three years ago we became aware of the continued and rapid destruction of the world’s ancient rainforests caused by irresponsible palm oil production, so we made the move in response to it,” said Jan Buckingham, director, global values, The Body Shop. “Just as with all our other products, if we see there is a better way to do it, we will.” Prior to the move to sustainable palm oil, The Body Shop bought palm oil on the open market.
The next tier of soaps produced with sustainable palm oil will ship this month, the rest by the end of the year. The move, said Buckingham, equates to 14.5 million bars of soap sold annually by The Body Shop in more than 2,200 stores across 57 countries around the world, 300 of which are in the U.S.
U.K.-based The Body Shop partnered with Daabon, a certified organic producer in Columbia, to source sustainable palm oil. The Body Shop sits on the global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which consists of more than 250 organizations, including 20 major retailers, committed to finding solutions to the issues posed by palm oil production. The Body Shop now calls for retailers who have already made this commitment to begin sourcing RSPO certified sustainable palm oil as soon as it become available later this year, and asks more retailers to join the RSPO.
The RSPO developed a set of principles & criteria for the production of sustainable palm oil. “We have the standards ready and we expect a full certification scheme to be finalized by November,” said Rikke Netterstrom, head of ethical policy, The Body Shop.
The Body Shop will have to pay a premium for the palm oil supply from Daabon, but the customers will not see any cost increases. “We’re absorbing the additional costs because it is the right thing to do and it’s worth it,” said Buckingham, who added that they expect the prices to decrease as more companies move to sustainable palm oil.
Aside from educating their employees who will then educate consumers, The Body Shop is not doing any marketing on its own to promote its use of sustainable palm oil at this time. “We don’t want to confuse the issue,” said Netterstrom. “We fully support the RSPO standards and don’t want consumers to think there is more than one so we will wait until everything is in place and they are ready to promote the use of sustainable palm oil globally.”