OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

WHAT IS PALM OIL?

Palm oil is extracted from both the flesh and kernel of fruit from the oil palm tree. Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, and it is in about half of all packaged products sold in the supermarket. You may not realise but Palm Oil is used in everything from Lipsticks, to Shampoo through to Chocolate, Ice-cream and even Biscuits.

WHAT'S THE BIG ISSUE?

To supply the massive demand and create enough land for Palm tree plantations, rainforests all over the world are being destroyed. Often, these plantations are run by multi-national corporations that exploit farmers and do nothing to improve workers’ standard of living. All of this has tainted a very negative light on Palm Oil productions.

“While palm plantations are among the worst culprits of conventional corporate industrial agriculture, many other industrially grown conventional crops have similar negative impacts. Any crop can be grown sustainably or unsustainably, and palm is no exception.” 

WHERE DOES SANTOSA'S PALM OIL COME FROM?

Santosa is determined to break this negative connotation of Palm Oil and prides itself on choosing a world renown sustainable and socially responsible supplier, Serendipalm.

The Palm Oil in Santosa’s products, comes directly from small scale farmers in Asuom, a village in Ghana, using traditional farming processes. Serendipalm has purpose-built a small scale Palm oil mill and has recruited local farmers. 

Our supplier pays the farmers fair prices for the Palm fruits, including an organic premium and supports them with mulch, manure and organic farming training. They have become the largest employer in the local area, primarily employing unskilled local women, who now enjoy working conditions and fair compensation which is highly uncommon otherwise.

Serendipalm also funds local community development projects, including drilling wells and installing tanks to provide access to clean water, they have also built nurse’s quarters, schools and public toilet facilities.

SHOULD WE AVOID PALM OIL COMPLETELY?

The short answer is no—palm oil doesn't have to be unsustainable. Some of our competitors have switched from palm oil to coconut oil, however this is not a long term solution as coconut has an even greater environmental impact, including higher contribution to global warming and significantly lower yield per square metre.

Instead, we believe that growers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers can all contribute to a system in which enough palm oil is produced to meet the world’s needs while the environment, animals and local communities are protected.