Why I don’t use Palm Oil

Palm oil is a common ingredient in soap because it creates hard, long-lasting bars and performs reliably in large-scale manufacturing. From a formulation standpoint, it works.

I choose not to use it for other reasons.

Environmental impact
Large-scale palm oil production has been closely linked to deforestation, habitat destruction, and biodiversity loss, particularly in Southeast Asia. As demand for palm oil increases, pressure on land use increases with it.

While certified sustainable palm oil does exist, certification systems vary in rigor, and supply chains can be difficult to verify at small scale. Rather than relying on a complex certification system, I’ve chosen to avoid the ingredient entirely.

Ingredient philosophy
My soap formulations rely on fats and oils that either:

• come from existing food-industry byproducts (such as lard and tallow), or

• are widely used culinary oils with established, diversified supply chains (such as olive oil)

Using byproducts allows existing materials to be fully utilized without creating additional agricultural demand.

Performance without palm oil
Palm oil is not required to make a good bar of soap. The qualities it provides—hardness, longevity, and structure—can be achieved through other fats and careful formulation.

Avoiding palm oil is a deliberate choice, not a limitation.

A values-based decision
This isn’t a claim that palm oil–based soap is unsafe or ineffective. It’s a choice about sourcing, scale, and environmental responsibility that aligns with how I want to make products.

I prefer ingredients whose origins I can explain plainly and whose impacts I can stand behind.