Why Hairborist Does Not use Palm Oil in its Products

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Where does palm oil come from?

Palm oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the fruits of an oil palm tree. These trees, typically grown in tropical climates, are primarily found in the tropical rainforest of Malaysia and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra .

Palm oil’s negative effect on the environment

Palm oil itself is not harmful; on the contrary, it is found in a great deal of everyday consumer goods. But the trees are being exploited for the fruit. As one of the most-widely versatile oils, global demand for the oil from big corporations and multinationals has continued to soar since the 1990’s. Big businesses consider the fruits as pure profit and want as much of this highly-profitable cash crop as possible. The result: large-scale forest destruction in rural areas. To create the oil palm plantations fires are set. The results are dire: carbon is released into the atmosphere which warms the planet and destroys habits. This is considered a worldwide problem with capital gain as the incentive to produce more of this oil.

Deforestation threatens biodiversity and increases greenhouse gas emissions in rural areas. Dependence on this oil has had devastating consequences: plants, trees, flowers, and animals are torn away from their natural habitat. But there is also a human factor. Indigenous people are often driven off of their land, and end up displaced or homeless. Finally, deforestation contributes to global warming and harms our natural surroundings.

Fortunately, there is a sustainable palm oil!

Now for the good news: there is a solution for producing a sustainable alternative! Hairborist understands and agrees with the concerns of customers and has partnered with other ecologically sound companies in the industry. Worldwide awareness of the problem has shed light on the palm oil debate, and action is being taken. We support the idea of using a sustainable oil and have opted for a nature-friendly approach to extracting the oil that does not use the “slash and burn” method. The businesses and farmers with whom we work manage new plantations, respect sustainable regulation and ecological practices, and are committed to growing sustainable oil which will allow them to thrive in an ecologically sound way.

Does Hairborist use palm oil?

At Hairborist, we do not use palm oil grown on harmful plantations. However, we also believe in completely transparency: our Color Care conditioner contains traces of the oil. That amount is less than 0.001%. However, our supplier emphasizes that it uses a sustainable variant and thus does not contribute to deforestation.

Let us explain in more detail…

• Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate is not used undiluted in our formula. It is actually a subcomponent of another ingredient. Therefore, it makes up only 0.00016% of the overall composition. Expressed in grams, 1000 kg of Color Care contains only 1.6 grams of oil. In comparison, a 15gr jar of hazelnut spread contains more palm oil than 1000kg of Color Care.
• The same goes for Ascorbyl Palmitate: it is also used as a subcomponent, representing only 0.000048% of the formula. For 1000kg of Color Care, this represents only 0.48 grams.