You may have heard about palm oil and its dangers to the environment, but what actually is it and how can we reduce our use of palm oil in everyday life? Certain things, like food stuffs and cosmetics such as shampoo bars, are possible to buy without palm oil. Keep reading to learn all you need to about palm oil, and to find the best palm oil free shampoo bars.
So let's start with the basics: what is palm oil? Palm oil is derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree, which is native to West Africa, as the BBC reports. It is the most commonly used vegetable oil worldwide, and features in a huge variety of products, from food to fuel. One of the reasons it is so popular is because it is cheap to source and is incredibly versatile.
But while this all sounds great, there are a number of pressing concerns and issues with using the ingredient, particularly when it comes to the environment, as GreenPeace reports. With the growing demand of palm oil, huge areas of forests home to whole eco-systems have been cleared in order to plant more oil palm trees. Animals and communities are negatively affected beyond measure, and without change, will continue to be, the charity reports.
The good news is that many companies are catching onto the fact that they need to be more ethically and environmentally responsible, and are creating products that are notably palm oil free. For example, supermarket Iceland declared earlier this year that they would be going palm oil free in their own brand products by the end of 2018, as the Mirror reports.
An easy way to reduce your use of palm oil is to buy a solid shampoo bar such as the four chosen below. Each is palm oil free and natural, meaning you can wash away without having to feel any guilt. Many are SLS-free too, which ensures your hair and skin is protected, as well as the environment. They're also largely plastic free, so this is a real eco-friendly approach to cleansing.
