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You can make handmade soaps with olive oil, too. So you don't have to cut any trees. Olive trees are good for environment, too.

plop_ 8y ago
You can make soap with lot of different oils. But different oils make different soaps. for instance a soap made exclusively with sunflower oil will be very soft and not bubbly, a soap made from coconut oil will be the exact contrary.
- kpwagner 8y ago
  Yes, exactly. Handmade soaps are rarely made from a single oil. I use a blend of palm, coconut, avocado, and castor. What oils you use and what percentage each oil represents in the composition, determines the base properties of the soap. I experimented with many compositions to get to my current recipe that I really like.
  - ricardobeat 8y ago
    Hope you’re not offended, but it sounds like you simply don’t care enough about this to make a change. There is a definitely a way to source from sustainable producers and/or change the recipe, but it will come at a cost. This is true in many businesses.
    - tomp 8y ago
      I think the unsustainable part is increasing consumerism. From this thread I gathered that palm oil is more edficient than e.g. coconut oil. So if people drop palm oil and switch to coconut oil, the sustainability problem will get worse.
      - kpwagner 8y ago
        For soapmaking the efficiency difference between palm oil and coconut oil is practically the same. If you are talking about oil production efficiency, I don't know.
    - kpwagner 8y ago
      Not offended. It's true. I don't care enough to make a change. This is partly because I use such a small amount of palm oil--maybe 200lbs annually--so my impact is minimal. Deforestation from palm oil production has been in the back of my mind for years. So far, my customers don't care as far as I can observe. I'm glad to see a big company taking a stand and informing consumers in the process. It's making me think about changing. Removing palm oil is not an option in my mind, but I might pay up for sustainable palm oil.
deleted 8y ago
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plop_ 8y ago

You can make soap with lot of different oils. But different oils make different soaps. for instance a soap made exclusively with sunflower oil will be very soft and not bubbly, a soap made from coconut oil will be the exact contrary.

kpwagner 8y ago
Yes, exactly. Handmade soaps are rarely made from a single oil. I use a blend of palm, coconut, avocado, and castor. What oils you use and what percentage each oil represents in the composition, determines the base properties of the soap. I experimented with many compositions to get to my current recipe that I really like.
- ricardobeat 8y ago
  Hope you’re not offended, but it sounds like you simply don’t care enough about this to make a change. There is a definitely a way to source from sustainable producers and/or change the recipe, but it will come at a cost. This is true in many businesses.
  - tomp 8y ago
    I think the unsustainable part is increasing consumerism. From this thread I gathered that palm oil is more edficient than e.g. coconut oil. So if people drop palm oil and switch to coconut oil, the sustainability problem will get worse.
    - kpwagner 8y ago
      For soapmaking the efficiency difference between palm oil and coconut oil is practically the same. If you are talking about oil production efficiency, I don't know.
  - kpwagner 8y ago
    Not offended. It's true. I don't care enough to make a change. This is partly because I use such a small amount of palm oil--maybe 200lbs annually--so my impact is minimal. Deforestation from palm oil production has been in the back of my mind for years. So far, my customers don't care as far as I can observe. I'm glad to see a big company taking a stand and informing consumers in the process. It's making me think about changing. Removing palm oil is not an option in my mind, but I might pay up for sustainable palm oil.

deleted 8y ago

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