Palmless protests palm-driven deforestation with Save the F***ing Rainforest Nourishing Oil
02 Mar 2023 --- Palmless has unveiled a multi-purpose and bio-designed oil dubbed Save the F***ing Rainforest Nourishing Oil as the first consumer product protesting the beauty industry. The company aims to tackle the destructive environmental and social impacts of palm-driven deforestation and is launching the product to elevate sustainability and performance.
“Our brand stands for change and this product is our protest to the industry,” says Shara Ticku, co-founder and CEO at C16 Biosciences, the creators of Palmless.
“The beauty industry has struggled with the palm oil problem for nearly a decade but has failed to show meaningful action. Palmless is holding our protest poster high – palm oil doesn’t need to be a problem.”
Save the F***ing Rainforest Nourishing Oil bridges the gap between performance moisturization and natural innovation, elevating the standard for beauty industry sustainability with a multi-purpose oil for the face, body and hair.
Powered Palmless Torula Oil, the latest launch, is described as a lightweight yet rich moisturizing oil to renew, replenish and restore skin and hair.
The company shares the product is rich in unique carotenoids, including beta carotene and torulene – a rare and novel carotenoid and sterol found only in the fungal kingdom. They are effective antioxidants to help maintain glowing skin and promote skin barrier function.
Save the F***ing Rainforest Nourishing Oil aims to tackle the destructive environmental and social impacts of palm-driven deforestation.
Handling the palm problem
By launching this product, Palmless hopes to pave the way for more innovation in the beauty industry to tackle the climate challenges and environmental and societal issues posed by the US$64 billion palm oil industry.
The Torula Oil is bio-designed by the scientists and innovators at C16 Biosciences and comes from natural yeast. It is rich in sterols like ergosterol, a provitamin D and a fundamental nutritional component of mushrooms that promotes skin barrier function.
“While our nourishing oil won’t save the rainforest, raising the alarm on unsustainable beauty products and formulating with innovative ingredients is a critical start,” the company states.
“We have partnered with One Tree Planted, so each bottle purchased contributes one tree to a reforestation project in Indonesia, where about 60% of palm oil is produced and rainforests have been decimated by deforestation.”
Ticku previously told PersonalCareInsights that the critical unlock of Palmless biomanufacturing is that it doesn’t require the resources, raw materials, climate conditions or arable land that traditional palm oil agriculture needs.
“Today, many raw materials are grown in the global South, where property and labor laws are lax and land is cheap. However, many of those materials – like palm oil – can only be grown in limited geographies and geopolitical, climate and economic disruptions frequently impact the supply of these crops,” she says.
“Our brand stands for change and this product is our protest to the industry,” says Shara Ticku.
Ingredients instigating change
Save the F***ing Rainforest Nourishing Oil is an amalgamation of other oils from jojoba, meadowfoam seeds, oat kernels, raspberry seeds and apricot kernels. It also contains essential oils that provide a natural lemongrass and eucalyptus fragrance underpinned by mandarin, geranium and white cedar notes.
Jojoba oil is a rich source of fatty acids and antioxidants and mimics human sebum. It conditions and seals in moisture, according to Palmless.
“Jojoba oil plants are desert-native and drought-resistant, meaning they require limited fertilizer and water for growth and do not compete with food crops. Ours is sourced from its natural habitat, the Arizonan Sonoran desert, and organically grown,” the company states.
Palmless sources meadowfoam seed oil from a farming cooperative in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where it’s planted as part of crop rotation to help provide sustainable, long-term soil health with low water use.
“Meadowfoam seed oil is a velvety, hydrating oil containing vitamins C and E. Meadowfoam seed oil is a powerhouse skin softener that also packs a punch in making a formulation that’s safe and pleasant to use – helping to ensure a long shelf life and a lightweight texture,” Palmless notes.
Additionally, the company highlights that it sustainably sources its oat kernel, raspberry seed, and apricot kernel oils through upcycled byproducts.
“Our product launch is a call to action for the industry: Let’s work together to save those precious rainforests before it’s too late,” Ticku underpins.
Palmless hopes to pave the way for innovation in the beauty industry to tackle climate change.
Palm oil protection
In December 2022, the European Council and the European Parliament struck a provisional deal aimed at minimizing the risk of deforestation and forest degradation caused by the expansion of agricultural land to produce imported or exported commodities.
The bodies agreed upon rules which will require operators to trace their products to the land where it was grown. Those sourcing from lands with a high-risk of deforestation will face increased checks and possible fines.
As the EU tightens its deforestation rules, Beiersdorf and World Wildlife Fund For Nature strengthened their partnership by aiding the conservation of natural forests on the island of Borneo until 2026. Evonik, Beiersdorf’s supplier of palm (kernel) oil derivatives, also joined the project, which promotes the cultivation of palm oil sourced from sustainable supply chains, thereby helping farmers.
“In line with the new EU deforestation rules, this project aims to support smallholder farmers in obtaining RSPO certification (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). RSPO agricultural practices strengthen the integrity of the forest ecosystems and contribute to halting deforestation,” a spokesperson at Beiersdorf previously told PersonalCareInsights.
By Radhika Sikaria
