Palm Oil Free Soap – 5 innovative Brands
Many soaps contain palm oil. Today, palm oil is the cheapest and most commonly used vegetable oil in the world. It is used not only in cosmetics but also in a variety of food such as Nutella, cookies or margarine. It is found in almost all industrial products, from food to cosmetics and detergents to fuels.
The production of palm oil, however, has a massive impact on humans and the environment, especially in the cultivation areas in Indonesia and Malaysia.
If palm oil is contained in a product it can easily be identified on the packaging in the the list of ingredients, either under the term “palm oil” or terms containing “palmitate”. In this article we show you 5 brands of alternative soaps without palm oil.
Why is palm oil problematic?
The use of palm oil in cosmetics does not actually pose any health hazard to the consumer. It is mainly the cultivation in the tropics, which permanently damages the fauna and flora as well as leads to social conflicts in the region.
Already in 2007, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) reported that every minute tropical rainforest of the size of 35 football fields are cleared to make space for palm oil plantations. These plantations are still the main reason for rainforest destruction in Malaysia and Indonesia, where 85 percent of the palm oil used worldwide is cultivated.
On the other hand, palm oil is not as bad as it seems. There is no other vegetable oil that is more efficient. The yield of palm oil is three times higher than rapeseed, and for the same crop it needs about six times less space than soy.
Social conflicts are also fueled by palm oil cultivation in the region. Small farmers and indigenous peoples are often expelled from their land. More than 700 land conflicts are linked to the palm oil industry in Indonesia alone.
Palm oil free soaps
Following, we have listed some soaps brands that dispense with palm oil, including their ingredients:
Splendor Santa Barbara Soothing Vanilla Oatmeal Pure Coconut Oil Soap
With Food-grade coconut oil, Colloidal Oats and Antioxidant-Rich Cocoa
- Handmade in small batches in Santa Barbara, California
- No Palm Oil
- No Alcohol, no Parabens, no Sulfates, no Artificial colors, no Phthalates
- No Soy, no GMO’s
- Gluten-Free
- Not tested on animals
- Vegan
Ingredients
Coconut Oil, H2O, Sodium Hydroxide (Key Element to Making Soap None Remains in Finished Product), Colloidal Oats, Organic Cocoa, Fragrance.
Madison Soap Company – Ylang-Ylang, Lemongrass Kombucha Soap
With Shea Butter Soap
- Palm Oil Free
- Cruelty-Free
- Vegan
Ingredients:
*RAW Virgin Shea Butter, *Coconut Oil, *Sunflower Oil, Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide, ^Kombucha SCOBY, ^Kombucha, *+ Turmeric Powder, Activated Charcoal, Lemongrass Oil, Ylang-Ylang Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Sodium Lactate, Rosemary Leaf Extract *Organic +Fair Trade ^Local
Simplici Activated Charcoal Unscented Bar Soap
Made of Coconut oil, activated bamboo charcoal and powdered marshmallow root.
No added scent
- No palm oil
- No artificial color
- No synthetic fragrance oils
- No plastic packaging
Ingredients
saponified lard (with BHA, propyl gallate & citric acid), saponified coconut oil, activated bamboo charcoal, ground marshmallow root
O My!™ Vanilla Sandalwood Goat Milk Soap
Handmade Soap Made in USA with fresh goat milk from a goat farm in Knotts Island, N.C.
- All Natural
- Palm Oil Free
- Gluten Free
- Paraben Free, Phosphate Free, Sulfate Free
Ingredients:
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Organic Goat Milk, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil
Bay Rum – The Naturally Fresh Scented Bar Soap for Men
With Shea Butter Olive, Coconut and Hemp Oils
- Cold process soap with no need to add harsh chemicals or preservatives
- Handmade in USA
Ingredients:
Saponified Oils of (Olive, Coconut, Hemp, and non-gmo Soy), Shea Butter, Lye, Fragrance.
Conclusion
It was not easy to find soaps that are made without components from the palm oil plant. Of course not every palm oil is harmful to the environment. Especially most all-natural and organic cosmetics manufacturers make sure that their soaps are made environmentally friendly and use palm oil from sustainable sources. But we have shown that it even is possible to go without palm oil, at all.
Image @tristantan by Pixabay
