LIVING OUR VALUES
Values repOrt 2009
SPECIAL fOCUS mATERIALS - PALm OIL AND wOOD
there are some natural raw materials, which we feel deserve special attention. both wood and palm oil are materials,
which fall into this category. the cultivation and harvesting of both materials has been strongly criticised, for resulting in the
destruction of rainforests and exploitation of workers. the body shop always been passionate about protecting rainforests –
our Community trade soya comes from farmers in brazil who use traditional methods that do not contribute to deforestation.
We have developed strong programmes to ensure that we source wood and palm oil from well-managed sources.
PALm OIL
palm oil is one of the most widely produced vegetable oils
in the world. it is an important component of many soaps,
washing powders and personal care products. the trade in 74% of our Love Your Body™ card
palm oil has rightfully attracted some high profile criticism
for its impact on the environment and workers - plantations members said that they are “very
are sometimes started on deforested land, destroying
fragile ecosystems and wildlife and workers’ rights are not
concerned” about deforestation
protected adequately.
the roundtable on sustainable palm Oil (rspO) was established to bring together key players in the palm oil industry to try and
improve standards in the industry. the rspO comprises of ngOs such as Oxfam and WWf, businesses like the body shop who
use palm oil, plantations, and other companies involved in the palm oil supply chain. this has resulted in a ground-breaking
standard for the production of sustainable palm oil, taking into account aspects of biodiversity and human rights.
UPDATE ON PROgRESS
wHAT wE SAID wE wOULD DO wHAT wE DID
all soaps made from rspO certified palm oil all soaps are now sourced from a supplier successfully
by year end 2008 audited against rspO criteria. We sold 7.5 million in 2008
We are high profile members of the rspO and in 2007 we
worked closely with the british retail Consortium (brC) to
establish a uk-based working group on sustainable palm
oil. this enables us to work collectively with other european
retailers to ensure appropriate issues are addressed by the
rspO. We are delighted that l’Oréal joined the rspO at the
beginning of 2007:
in June 2007 we changed our entire soap range to be manufactured using palm oil from
one of the leading sustainable plantations – daabon in Colombia.
We supported daabon to be successfully audited against rspO criteria.
We also visited the plantation to ensure that the protection and welfare of communities,
workers and the surrounding jungle is preserved and promoted.
throughout 2009 we will continue to assess our product range to see if there is further
scope to source rspO certified palm.
INDEPENDENT COmmENTARY fROm ALAN kNIgHT
“i discovered that all their soap was made with some of the first oil palm verified by the
roundtable on sustainable palm Oil. Wow, fantastic, much more could be said to their customers.”
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