Palm Oil, Soap & Sustainability
Palm oil is one of the most discussed ingredients in modern soapmaking. It is also one of the most misunderstood.
At French Soaps, we believe customers deserve clear information rather than slogans. Some of our soaps contain palm-derived ingredients, some do not. Where palm oil is used, we work with savonneries that source from certified responsible supply chains and can demonstrate their commitment to recognised sustainability standards.
Why Is Palm Oil Used In Soap?
Palm oil produces a hard, long-lasting bar with a rich, stable lather. It has been used in soapmaking for generations because it performs exceptionally well and helps create a soap that lasts longer in use.
You may see palm-derived ingredients listed as Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Palm Kernel Acid or Elaeis Guineensis Oil. These are simply different forms of palm oil or palm kernel oil used within the soapmaking process.
What Is The Concern?
The concern is not the oil itself.
The concern is how and where oil palms are grown.
Historically, expansion of some palm plantations has contributed to deforestation, habitat loss and biodiversity decline in parts of Southeast Asia and other tropical regions. This has rightly attracted public attention and remains an important environmental issue.
Like many agricultural commodities, the impact depends largely on how the crop is produced and managed.
Why Not Simply Replace Palm Oil?
This is where the discussion becomes more complex.
Oil palm is an exceptionally productive crop. It produces considerably more oil per hectare than alternatives such as sunflower, soybean or rapeseed. Because of this high yield, replacing all palm oil with other vegetable oils would require substantially more agricultural land.
For many environmental organisations, the challenge is therefore not simply eliminating palm oil, but improving how it is grown, monitored and sourced.
Our Approach
We support responsible sourcing rather than blanket avoidance.
Many of the savonneries we work with use RSPO-certified palm oil. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is the leading international organisation promoting more responsible palm cultivation through standards covering environmental protection, worker welfare, traceability and land management.
No certification system is perfect, and sustainability remains an evolving challenge. However, independent certification and traceable supply chains are currently among the most practical tools available for improving standards across the industry.
Palm Oil And Traditional Soapmaking
Palm-derived oils have become common in many traditional vegetable soaps because they help create bars that are firm, economical and long-lasting without relying on synthetic hardeners.
In our range you will find both palm-based and palm-free soaps. Traditional Savon de Marseille made exclusively from olive oil is naturally palm free, while many Provence soaps use responsibly sourced palm alongside other vegetable oils to achieve a particular balance of hardness, lather and longevity.
Neither approach is inherently right or wrong. They are simply different formulations with different characteristics.
Our Commitment
We carefully select the makers we work with and expect transparency around ingredient sourcing, manufacturing standards and environmental responsibility.
We will continue to offer both palm-based and palm-free soaps, allowing customers to choose the formulation that best aligns with their preferences.
What matters most to us is that ingredients are sourced responsibly, used thoughtfully and formulated into products that genuinely perform well.
That, in our view, is a more useful conversation than simply asking whether a soap contains palm oil.