A MESSAGE FROM BIOME FOUNDER, TRACEY BAILEY

Biome's mission from day one has been to be a part of the solution to the world's environmental problems. We think deeply about the whole story of the products we offer.  We aim to be financially secure so that we can continue what we love doing.

Since we began in 2003, we have spoken out about palm oil.  This followed on from my encounter with orangutans in Kalimantan that was the catalyst for Biome.

As a result of taking bold action in May 2017 for Biome stores to be 100% free from palm oil, a chain reaction is happening. Now, other Australian stores are talking about palm!  We are proud that our action is helping make palm oil matter. 

Every hour, 300 football fields of forest is cleared in South East Asia for palm oil plantations. Almost 80% of orangutan habitat has disappeared in the last 20 years. We are losing over 6,000 orangutans a year, 16 today. There are only 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world. Source: The Orangutan Project

We have learned that it is not possible to rely on a brand's assurances that they use "sustainable palm" because they generally have not obtained legally binding commitments from their suppliers. The problem is they use ingredients that their manufacturer buys from other suppliers. There are too many links in the chain and when inputs change for commercial reasons no one tells us.

Any body product that is creamy such as moisturisers, liquid makeup, or sunscreen requires an emulsifying agent to bind the water and oil together into a cream. That emulsifier is more than likely to be a palm oil-derived ingredient. Similarly, most plant-based detergents (or surfactants) are derived from palm or coconut, and the two are interchanged depending on seasonality and cost. If a brand tells us that their Stearic Acid, for example, is not palm-oil derived, we ask for a written guarantee of this. Once we asked for this, we found they could not guarantee it would not be palm.

In addition to Glycerin/e, palm is used extensively in the cosmetics and skin care to make 1000 synthetic compounds (by chemical reactions), such as Emulsifying Wax, Stearic Acid, Polyglyceryl Dipolyhydroxystearate, Cetyl Alcohol, and Caprylic Triglyceride. Manufacturers buy these ingredients from a chemical company such as CRODA who purchase palm oil from a mixed pool of sources around the world. You can see how difficult it is for the manufacturer of your moisturiser to know where the palm oil used in the emulsifying agent was grown.

Therefore, Biome no longer stocks any products with palm oil derived ingredients.  We are not saying that these brands are 'bad' because they rely on palm oil ingredients. The problem is the lack of transparency. Without full consumer awareness how will there ever be any push back to manufacturers and palm oil industry that the rampant deforestation and costs to the planet are unacceptable.  Here is a list of brands that we believe may contain palm oil derivatives >

This means that we are not able to stock many of the top natural makeup and skin care brands. We do offer equally effective boutique brands that go to extra lengths to find a different way of doing things. We seek out brands that use simple, close-to-nature ingredients, so that you have peace of mind about exactly what is in the products. We also have ingredients for you to make your own skin care.

We sincerely thank those suppliers who were transparent and assisted us, eventhough it meant we could no longer stock their range. 

Read more about my journey to Kalimantan's rainforest and orangutan habitat in 1996 here >