Did you know that your favourite ice cream could be linked to mass deforestation and human rights abuses in Southeast Asia?
It’s true: Magnum ice cream -- and other products made by its parent company, Unilever -- contains dirty, unsustainable palm oil. This palm oil is contributing to climate change, the clearing large swathes of pristine rainforest, and it's destroying the habitats of endangered tigers, elephants, and orangutans.
But right now we have a great opportunity to make them shape up. With summer kicking in for a lot of places, Unilever has launched a massive ad campaign for Magnum, and we have a plan to turn their own ad spending against them.
Using mock ice cream trucks, we’ll hand out palm-oil-free ice cream while reminding people how bad Magnum’s dirty palm oil really is.
If you can chip in, we can scale this action up immediately and show Unilever that if they don’t clean up, then their reputation will pay the price.
Can you chip in to force Unilever to clean up its palm oil policy?
Unilever was one of the first big companies to recognise that we need to clean up the palm oil industry. But now, it’s lagging way behind.
It still sources its palm oil from dodgy suppliers that engage in deforestation, labour rights abuses, and land grabbing. Unilever has no public plan as to when and how it will make its supply chain fully traceable, transparent, and independently verified.
Along with our partners, we’re amping up the pressure on Unilever to adopt a strong palm oil policy that puts an end to the mass clearing of forests, workers being trafficked and enslaved, and endangered species losing their homes.
So we’re getting creative. Magnum prides itself as a seductive, indulgent brand. But deforestation is not sexy. And neither are humans rights abuses -- and we’re making sure that people hear that message.
The SumOfUs community, working with our partners, has already forced huge shifts in the palm oil supply chain over the past few years. Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC, Dunkin’ Donuts, and a whole lot of other companies have adopted truly responsible palm oil policies, committing to end deforestation in their supply chains.
Now as one of the world’s biggest consumers of palm oil, we need Unilever to really step up. And we need your help to do it.
Please, can you chip in to force Unilever to clean up its palm oil policy now?
More information
The Guardian. 16 October 2015.
The Guardian. 3 March 2016.
Rainforest Action Network.