Human rights abuses in your shopping basket | Amnesty International
Ben &
Jerry’s, Colgate, Dove, Pantene and KitKat are just some of the
thousands of popular brands that use palm oil. But where does that palm
oil come from?
Palm oil is a commodity in massive demand for its use
in a wide range of basic products from ice-cream and chocolate to
shampoo and toothpaste.
Most companies will tell you that the palm oil they use is
“sustainable” – meaning that it is environmentally friendly and the
workers are treated fairly.
But an Amnesty International investigation has revealed that some of the world’s biggest companies
- including Colgate, Nestlé and Unilever - are contributing to child
labour and wretched conditions for other workers on palm oil
plantations.
Abuses are also taking place on plantations run by companies who are
certified as "sustainable", meaning even brands you buy marked as made
with “sustainable” or “certified palm oil” could be tainted by human
rights abuses.
