The results of a survey of over 70 Easter egg manufacturers show that many are using non-certified palm oil or derivatives in their products.
The survey undertaken by Ethical Consumer magazine and the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) ranked companies' practices and policies in relation to their palm oil sourcing, using information already in the public domain, followed up with a further questionnaire.
Ranking at the top of the survey are Divine and Booja Booja, neither of which use any palm oil in their chocolate products.
However, chocolate giants Lindt, Thorntons and Guylian scraped their way into the bottom of the rankings, with Lindt reportedly supplying inaccurate figures, while Thorntons and Guylian failed to submit any documentation to the organisations.
Ethical Consumer magazine and RFUK are launching a campaign in response to the increasing threat that unsustainable palm oil is posing to the world's rainforests, their indigenous wildlife, and the people whose livelihoods depend on the forests. Having destroyed vast areas of forest in countries such as Indonesia, palm oil companies are now planning to expand in the rainforests of the Congo Basin in Africa.
Consumers are unaware of palm oil content, the campaign says, because of current labelling laws. Palm oil is a key ingredient in many food products – including chocolate and biscuits – but companies are not required by EU law to label products containing it until December 2014.
The aim of the campaign is to encourage consumers to buy the best-rated products, forcing those companies that are not taking their environmental responsibilities seriously to use more sustainably sourced palm oil.
The guide to chocolate is the first of a series of guides that will rate all consumer products using palm oil. Future guides will include biscuits, cereals and spreads.
According to a recent RFUK report, Seeds of Destruction, 1m acres of rainforest in the Congo Basin are being developed by palm oil producers. With 284m acres of suitable soil in the region, developers are actively seeking large sites.
Tim Hunt, co-director of Ethical Consumer, added, "Consumer power has the potential to help save the Congo's rainforests and its wildlife that are under threat from palm oil production. This Easter we're asking chocolate lovers to buy their Easter eggs from those chocolate companies that we've identified as taking an ethically responsible stance on this critical issue."
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