Substitute for Palm Oil?

I heard recently that the process of obtaining palm oil is adverse to the environment. What can I use to replace this ingredient in my soap recipe?

My tried-and-true recipe is this:

Coconut oil

Palm oil

Canola oil

Olive oil

Shea butter

Anyone have any ideas for me? Thanks, in advance.

I recently decided to stop using Palm oil, my only hard oils were coconut & shea- I justed upped the Coconut & fiddled around with my other oils.

Hi -

Usually people replace Palm with Lard or Tallow. However - if you are against using animal oils - try Cocoa Butter. Even just a little bit hardens up the bars quite a bit. Blending the CB with other hard oils like Olive or Avocado will help too.

Lard/tallow is a good substitute for palm oil, but you can also use olive or rice bran oil.

In one of the conferences I went to, there was a bar of 100% olive and another bar of 100% rice bran oil. You can't tell them apart as far as properties and feel go... Since then, I have up'd my rice bran oil considerably in my CP soaps

Kitty

It's JMO but I would make absolutely sure that what you heard is true before change a tried and true recipe of your own that you have used foor years. It probably took you quite a while to come up with what work for you and your customers. Have the facts and not heresay of others.

That said, could you go with PKO Flakes? I know both Palm oil and PKO Flakes bring totally different things to a recipe but it will add hardness to the bar as well.

Have a good day,

Fire

Here's an interesting article from the NY Times on Palm Oil you may find interesting. (sorry for the long link!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/business/worldbusiness/19palmoil.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The slide show on the production is pretty amazing.

good grief, wish i knew this before i bought the palm oil. sigh.

"That said, could you go with PKO Flakes? I know both Palm oil and PKO Flakes bring totally different things to a recipe but it will add hardness to the bar as well."

If someone wants to avoid using Palm oil because of environmental issues, then PKO is not a good substitute since it comes from the same plant.

Thanks for the link, that was a very interesting piece.

Shea Butter

I found that article very interesting. I'm wondering just how much this is going to impact our craft as a whole since it seems everything is going UP.

Bethany

The best substitute for Asian palm is South American palm. There are no orangutans in S America and the palm crops are being grown on reclaimed plantations, not newly clear-cut forest. These farms are also following NOP guidelines for sustainability and organic farming methods.

You will have to pay more for this type of palm, just like a free range hormone and antibiotic free turkey will cost you more than a Butterball.

It's all about priorities.

For more information see http://www.daabonusa.com/usa/ourphilosophy.html

BTW, Daabon palm oil is sold domestically under the Spectrum brand name, but Columbus Foods offers a VERY similar product that is sold as their organic palm.

HTH someone

hoooooorrraaaayyyyyyyy.....at least now i can get ok palm oil....cuz i kinda like what it contributes to the soap.

There is a very long and in depth thread about subbing Palm on the Dish in the soap forum. It's interesting reading.

Fire