Earth Balance & Palm Oil

Dear Jacqueline,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us here at Earth Balance. We always appreciate hearing from consumers who care enough to reach out to us with their comments or questions.

As palm oil is one of the critical elements to our proprietary blend of oils, we’re dedicated to being proactive in growing awareness around the issue.

While Earth Balance is only a small palm oil user (we use less than 0.05% of all palm oil), we’re taking a big stand against unsustainable palm oil. Here’s how…

First, we are firmly committed to sustainable sourcing, and we believe in the power of informed consumers to change the world for the better. We are educating our suppliers about ways to safeguard the rainforest through sustainable palm oil sourcing, and we’re educating our customers about how they can have a direct positive impact by exclusively purchasing responsibly sourced palm oil products.

Thirty percent of our palm oil comes from sustainable palm oil plantations in Brazil. Our Brazil-sourced palm oil is 100% organic and is used in all of our organic products (and because orangutans are not native to South America, the Brazilian palm industry does not adversely impact their wellbeing). The remaining 70% of our palm oil comes from responsible sources in peninsular Malaysia, which are all members of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the leading global organization developing and implementing global standards for sustainable palm oil production. We insist on continuing assurances from our suppliers that all palm fruit oil purchased for Earth Balance complies with the RSPO policies, and we are committed to terminating any suppliers that violate these policies.

In addition, we purchase GreenPalm Certificates, which work a lot like carbon credits. The money used to purchase these certificates helps improve the infrastructure and practices behind sustainable palm oil. Moreover, we are supporting the action-oriented, on-the ground conservation work of Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) in Indonesian Borneo. OFI is a non-governmental, non-profit organization, led by world-renown primatologist and conservationist Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas. OFI is committed to rescuing and rehabilitating orangutans that are adversely affected by the palm oil industry, and has been working for more than 40 years to conserve rainforest habitat and educate people throughout the world about the orangutans’ plight. Earth Balance is especially proud to be a financial supporter of OFI’s ongoing initiative to return 330 wild-born, ex-captive rehabilitated orangutans back to the wild, into biologically-rich, protected forest, where they rightfully belong.

For more information, please see our White Paper: Addressing the Social & Environmental Challenges with Palm Fruit Oil, posted on our website.

We recognize this effort takes time, and we are committed to working with the industry and with organizations to develop long-term sustainable solutions. You can visit our website www.EarthBalanceNatural.com/responsibility/palm-oil/ for more information.


Sincerely,

Your Friends at Earth Balance

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