Selva Beat Magazine

As a certified palm oil free brand we were thrilled to have our story featured in edgy environmental magazine Selva Beat. Selva Beat is based in the USA and specialises in educating the public about conflict palm oil. I talked to journalist Elizabeth Stilwell about what it takes to be a certified palm oil free brand. The following are a couple of excerpts from the article:

Why go through the trouble of excluding palm oil to this degree while other brands don’t? “Our rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate to make way for palm oil plantations,” explains Sarah. “I don’t want to add to the consumer demand for palm oil. I also want to help raise awareness about the problem.” Being certified squeaky clean also gives her a platform to talk to customers about these issues. Knowing the use of palm oil in the beauty industry is so widespread, I asked her how difficult it was to exclude it from Amaranthine’s line. She told me, “It wasn’t difficult to exclude from my formulations as there are many wonderful oils to choose from. There isn’t anything so special about palm oil that you can’t get from other raw ingredients.'

Even without widespread awareness about palm oil, there has been a great response to Amaranthine products. Sarah says, “Consumers are really interested in natural skincare that gives them results. The natural skincare industry is booming in the UK and there is a real appetite for handmade natural products and for supporting local businesses.” And awareness is increasing. She says documentaries like Red Ape: Saving the Orangutan have helped and she's very optimistic: “I feel that there will definitely be more demand for palm oil free products once consumers become more aware of the link between the disappearance of our rainforests and palm oil.”