Rainforest Action Network

Tell more than 350 companies: It's time to stop destroying rainforests for palm oil!

More than 2,000 RAN supporters across 46 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces are going to their local supermarkets and sticking tens of thousands of "Warning: Product May Contain Rainforest Destruction" stickers on products that contain palm oil.

Now you can help make sure that the companies that use palm oil in food and household products get the message: It's time to stop destroying rainforests for palm oil.

The goal: 1 million letters to these companies today!

With just one click you can send a letter to every company we could find that uses palm oil and invite them to join our campaign.

These companies, as palm oil customers, are in a unique position to help us pressure agribusiness giants like ADM and Cargill -- who are responsible for destroying rainforests in order to produce palm oil.

The use of palm oil in soaps, cosmetics, food products and other consumer goods is a primary driver of human rights abuses, tropical deforestation, endangered species habitat destruction, and climate change.

Your voice can make a difference.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to express my concern about the use of palm oil in your products, and to urge you to join forces with the Rainforest Action Network in putting pressure on Cargill, ADM, and the other agribusiness companies who are destroying the rainforest, the climate, and communities for this oil.

Today more than 2000 people volunteered to go to their local stores across North America and put bright yellow stickers reading "Warning! Product May Contain Rainforest Destruction" on products made with palm oil--including yours.

As I am sure you are aware, palm oil production is linked to the destruction of our climate and irreplaceable tropical ecosystems. For instance, tropical rainforest destruction is responsible for one-fifth of current global greenhouse emissions--and the leading cause of tropical deforestation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands is palm oil plantation expansion.

In addition, the expansion of palm oil plantations can be devastating for the communities and for the animals that rely on the rainforest for their survival. More than five million Indigenous people will be forced off their land by 2010 to create room for palm plantations, according to the United Nations.

As a purchaser of palm oil, you are in a unique position to demand that the growers and traders of palm oil -- companies such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, and Cargill -- operate in a fair and ethical manner.

Companies that use palm oil can ensure that rainforests, communities, and the climate are not sacrificed for the expansion of palm oil plantations. You can be part of the solution by phasing out the use of palm oil and switching to alternative oils until more responsible palm oil sources are made available. I also urge you to comply with Rainforest Action Network's other demands, and

* Research your own supply chain and let RAN know who provides the palm oil that you use in your products. * Contact your palm oil suppliers and tell them that if they are unable to provide a supply that can be independently verified as not being derived from recently cleared tropical rainforests, then you will find an alternative supplier and/or phase out palm oil from your products all together. * Support the moratorium on palm oil expansion in tropical rainforests.

You can learn more about palm oil at http://www.theproblemwithpalmoil.org

As a consumer, I want to be sure that the products I use do not contain rainforest destruction. Please become a leader in environmental and socially sustainability, and contact RAN now at TheProblemWithPalmOil@ran.org.

Yours Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
August 12, 2008