Dear Humans, 

Before we start, let’s take a look at this picture. Trees charred and burnt to the ground, not a single animal in sight. Yes, it is the infamous activity humans engage in, deforestation. Although this may seem familiar to you, what you may not realise is that this is what happens everyday in order for you to enjoy your beauty products at home. This my friend, is my biggest enemy, the extraction of palm oil. 

Source: Prasad, 2019

With it’s low cost and high productivity, palm oil is highly sought for in the beauty industry. Palm oil and it’s derivatives such as glycerol and fatty acids are ingredients used in beauty products for it’s emollient and foaming properties (Bom, Jorge, Ribeiro, & Marto, 2019)

Source: Miller, 2019

Basically, there are 3 main products from the oil palm tree. Firstly, crude palm oil, which is extracted from the flesh of the fruit. Next, palm kernel oil is squeezed out from the seed of the fruit. Lastly, palm oil expeller which is leaked out during the process of extraction. These 3 types of products from palm oil are refined and then processed in order to produce numerous types of beauty products (Maluin, Hussein, & Idris, 2020) . 

In order to produce quantities to meet its demand, forests with rich biodiversity have been cleared over substantial areas. To clear these peatlands, forests are set on fire, releasing air pollutants and hazy conditions to neighbouring countries. This has led to widespread deforestation, releasing excessive amounts of CO2 into the air and worsening air pollution and inducing haze (Obidzinski, Andriani, Komarudin, & Andrianto, 2012). 

I have to go, but I will return shortly in my next post to enlighten you further about the devastating consequences that the extraction of palm oil for your beauty products has caused to our beautiful planet. 

Tense and worried vibes,

Mother Nature 

References: 

Bom, S., Jorge, J., Ribeiro, H., & Marto, J. (2019). A step forward on sustainability in the cosmetics industry: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 225, 270-290. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.255

Maluin, F. N., Hussein, M. Z., & Idris, A. S. (2020). An Overview of the Oil Palm Industry: Challenges and Some Emerging Opportunities for Nanotechnology Development. Agronomy, 10(3), 356. doi:10.3390/agronomy10030356

Miller, S. (2020, July 21). Why Palm Oil In Your Cosmetics Is Controversial. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://thenakedchemist.com/why-palm-oil-is-controversial/

Obidzinski, K., Andriani, R., Komarudin, H., & Andrianto, A. (2012). Environmental and Social Impacts of Oil Palm Plantations and their Implications for Biofuel Production in Indonesia. Ecology and Society, 17(1). doi:10.5751/es-04775-170125

The Swaddle. (2019, December 12). Report: Major Global Brands Continue to Drive Indonesia’s Deforestation by Buying Illegal Palm Oil. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://theswaddle.com/brands-drive-palm-palm-oil-deforestation-indonesia/