Just five days after Greenpeace launched a new campaign against Unilever, which makes Dove beauty products, the company announced plans to support Greenpeace's call for a moratorium on rainforest destruction in Indonesia. This is fantastic news for the highly endangered orangutan, whose forest home has been destroyed at an alarming rate, in large part due to the production of palm oil (a key ingredient in many of Unilever food and cosmetic products). We launched the campaign with a series of actions across Europe, issuing a report documenting Unilever's harmful practices and sending Greenpeace activists dressed as orangutans to Unilever's headquarters to hang a banner and draw attention to the company's "monkey business."
Why Unilever? Unilever is one of the largest users of palm oil in the world. This means Unilever has a huge influence on the way palm oil is made.
In addition to the serious threat to orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and Javan rhinoceroses, destruction of the Indonesian rainforest is also a major contributor to global warming. As the carbon from trees and several feet of underlying peatland is released into the atmosphere, huge volumes of greenhouse gases are accelerating climate change. Indonesia is the third largest emitter of these gases in the world, due to the destruction of its forests at the hands of the palm oil industry.
Unilever's announcement could lead to a win-win for orangutans and the climate. A moratorium would buy time for Greenpeace to push for long-term protections for Indonesia's threatened rainforests.
Sincerely,
Scott Paul
Forest Campaigner
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