A Cornish beauty brand has become one of the first in the UK to be certified palm oil free.
Truro-based Bloomtown has received Orangutan Alliance palm oil-free certification for its full range body & skincare.
Recent news of supermarket chain Iceland’s plans to remove palm oil from its own brand products has put the spotlight on the environmental issues caused by palm oil cultivation, namely the clearing of virgin rainforest in Indonesia and Malaysia, which is driving the extinction of critically endangered orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos.
Launched in 2017, the Orangutan Alliance International Palm Oil-Free Certification team is comprised of qualified food, beauty, product development and sustainability experts who wanted to assist through consumer choice on the issue of conflict palm oil.
Orangutan Alliance, a registered charity, advocates for consumer choice as well as supports grassroots conservation and forest protection projects affected by conflict palm oil, though profits from their certification program.
“Consumers are now wanting full disclosure in their food beyond allergen declarations for environmental to ethical reasons and we are here to provide that choice,” said Maria Abadilla founder and chairperson of Orangutan Alliance.
“There needs to be new ingredient solutions coming from the industry including new options, not requiring so much land associated with deforestation.”
Bloomtown, which was launched in April 2016 by husband and wife co-founders Medwin Culmer and Preyanka Clark Prakash, joins Canadian beauty brand Loa and Nuttvia brand Hazelnut Spread to get behind Orangutan Alliance’s international palm oil-free certification amongst other well-known brands.
Preyanka Clark Prakash added: “We launched Bloomtown out of our kitchen in Cornwall after spending two years in Indonesia and seeing a real need for palm oil-free options in the beauty industry.
“Global demand for palm oil is ever increasing, so we feel that one important way to prevent more virgin forest from being cleared is to reduce overall demand, by raising awareness and offering consumers reasonably priced, palm oil-free alternatives.”
