SOAP WITHOUT PALM OIL?
by Karin Grigoryan
Nairian joins the very important international environmental movement by saying ‘No!’ to palm oil!
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees, the scientific name is Elaeis guineensis. Oil palm trees are native to Africa but were brought to South-East Asia just over 100 years ago as an ornamental tree crop. Now, Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of global supply but there are 42 other countries that also produce palm oil.
Palm oil is in nearly everything – it’s in close to 50% of the packaged products we find in supermarkets. It is also used in detergents, cosmetics (lipstick), and soaps. Palm oil is an extremely versatile and inexpensive oil that has many different properties and functions, easy to extract, and can be stored for a long time which makes it so useful and so widely used.
Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino. This forest loss coupled with conversion of carbon rich peat soils are throwing out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
We at Nairian acknowledge the serious environmental impact of using Palm Oil. Our concern for the environment and nature is not limited to Armenia. And so, with the leadership of Anahit Markosyan, our team decided to develop a new viable formula for Nairian Bar Soaps. We are now proud to announce that all Nairian Bar Soaps are free of palm oil.
We have replaced palm oil in our formulas with other useful oils from local producers, such as coconut oil, olive oil, sea suckthorn, pomegranate, apricot, and grape seed oil. These natural oils moisturize and nourish the skin while also cleansing it.
You can try our natural, plant-based, palm oil free Nairian Bar Soaps here. That way, you too can join the international environmental movement!