Wash your hands of palm oil
By Nadine Kam
Stop by LUSH Cosmetics to 1 p.m. today and you’ll see staff members and customers ceremoniously washing their hands of palm oil at the window display.
The event calls attention to the increased use of palm oil, which is leading to the destruction of Malaysian and Indonesian rain forests. Palm oil is a key ingredient in foods, bio fuels and cosmetics, and LUSH has made the commitment to become a palm oil-free company.
Having reformulated its soap to eliminate use of palm oil, the company has also started a letter-writing campaign urging such companies as Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Nestle to follow suit. 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.
To reinforce the message, the company created a limited-edition vegan soap in the shape of a tree, called “Jungle.” One hundred percent of sales of the $5.95 Jungle bar will be donated to the Rainforest Foundation, which works with indigenous people to protect their forest homes from expanding palm oil plantations.
The window display will be up through Aug. 28, and customers can add their palm prints in green paint before receiving a free soap sample.
