Palm oil is widely used as a base oil in soapmaking. It creates a hard bar of soap with a creamy stable lather, and is often used as the vegetarian equivalent to tallow because it imparts the same characteristics to the bar of soap. Because of this it is a very popular ingredient in handmade soap. You might notice that in the list of ingredients on a bar of Glynne’s Soap, palm oil is not there. We have made a conscious choice not to use palm oil because of environmental concerns. If you keep up with our blog, or know us at all, you know that we are committed to being as green as possible. We recycle, reduce and reuse. We also try to only purchase materials that are also considered environmentally friendly. Palm oil is not one of these materials. Palm oil is a basic source of income for many of the world's rural poor in South East Asia, Central and West Africa, and Central America. Because of its increasing popularity, more and more rainforests are being destroyed to create more room for the palm plantations. The destruction of the rainforests is harmful to the environment for many reasons:

Significant greenhouse gas emission. Deforestation in tropical areas accounts for 1/3 of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Destruction of the habitats of many endangered species including the Sumatran Orangutan, Sumatran Tiger and African Rhinoceros. With their habitat destroyed, these animals will suffer extinction.

Removal of the natural growth leads to loss of homes, farmland, degradation of food and water supplies and untold other environmental effects.

Because of these concerns, we have decided not to make palm oil an ingredient of our soaps. The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil is beginning to certify certain palm oil producers as sustainable. Because this is a new system, it is not certain which suppliers are truly using sustainable palm oil. Until the certification process is less confusing, we will continue to stay away from palm oil. What can you do? There are many things that individuals can do to help increase companies use of sustainable palm oil and to help ensure that the sustainable certification is authentic. Palm oil is used in many food products as well as beauty products. Write to the companies that make these products and insist that they use certified sustainable palm oil. Discontinue using any products that contain palm oil. Let all your friends and family know the destruction that is being caused by the increasing demand for palm oil. Every little bit helps. Watch this short video about an orangutan that befriends a dog. It's very cute, and has a great message! [video:youtube:QByHat2BJLs] I'd love to hear your comments about the environmental impact of the increased use of palm oil. Keep it clean! Jenn

At Glynne’s Soaps we pride ourselves on being environmentally friendly. We do all we can to recycle. In our home and business, we only use products that are all natural and biodegradable. We compost what we can. We are also great fans of Freecycle, where people can give away things to someone who can use them instead of sending them to the landfill. We were surprised to see how much our weekly trash output was reduced when we began a concerted effort to recycle and compost. I read something the other day concerning recycling that made me stop and think. It said that people who have piles and piles of recycling every week and think they are doing a great thing for the environment are not 100% correct. Yes, recycling is important, but it is the third step in the mantra “Reduce, reuse, recycle” and some folks rarely consider the first two steps. The first and most important step is to reduce. Do we really need all the things we buy? Can we give preference to products that have less packaging? Is it something we can make or fix ourselves instead of purchasing? Secondly is reuse. Reusing items is even better for the environment than recycling because it eliminates the processing that has to happen to turn an old item into a useable new item. It also eliminates the need for the transportation of items from a recycling drop off center to the processing plant. Gayle and I have been very successful reusing discarded items. We built a bar from an old door that was being discarded (it is very ornate and beautiful). Our favorite chairs are chairs that were on their way to being discarded. We reworked them to create comfortable seating for us. It was easy and fun, but most importantly, we are doing our part to protect our environment for the generations that will follow. Some good websites with ideas on reusing are: www.freecycle.org www.neighBORROW.com www.reuseitnetwork.org www.recyclethis.co.uk Recycling should be the last step in the process. Only after all other options for reducing and reusing have been exhausted should recycling be chosen. The goal should be less recycling and less trash. So, before you just throw something in the recycling bin, try to come up with a way to reuse it or give it away. Jenn soapmaker@glynnesoaps.com