The story or Rang-tan and the problem with palm oil

I am passionate about the environment and the animals that we share our planet with. I do my best to avoid single use plastics; my family enjoy a plant-based diet and I source as many cruelty free, ethical and sustainable household products as I can. I am constantly reading ingredients labels in supermarkets when I'm shopping, trying to find suitable things to buy. One of the ingredients I try to avoid is palm oil. You find it in so many things, in fact half the products on the supermarket shelves contain it, despite the fact that its production has such a devastating  impact on our planet.  The industry is linked to major issues such as deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses in the countries where it is produced, as the land is cleared to make way for palm oil plantations.

Greenpeace have launched a new campaign focused on raising awareness of the problem, with a new short animated film and children’s book to highlight the issue of palm oil and its link to the deforestation of our rainforests. Featuring a young girl who discovers an orangutan named Rang-tan in her bedroom, the book introduces children to the plight of the orangutans as man destroys their natural habitat. The book and the film contain a very powerful message and a dedication to the 25 orangutans that we lose everyday, but it also brings a message of hope that we can change things for the better.

Our consumption of palm oil is rising, and the cost to our global climate and environment is devastating. Currently, most palm oil is used in food products, cosmetics and increasingly for use in biodiesel. As a result, Indonesia has more threatened and endangered species than any country on earth. The Bornean orangutan population has decreased by half since 1999, and a new species of orangutan discovered in Sumatra in 2017 is already endangered – mostly due to the destruction of their forests for palm oil.

            

Greenpeace has teamed up with Dame Emma Thompson, who narrates the film, to reach as many people as possible to fight for the protection of our rainforests and all those who depend on them. Greenpeace are calling on the palm oil industry to clean up its act and calling on food manufacturers to stop using palm oil.  Iceland has already pledged to remove palm oil from its own brand products by the end of this year, paving the way for other big brands to hopefully follow suit.

It is International Orangutan Day on the 19th August – a day to encourage people to take action to help save this amazing species. The more people that watch and share Rang-tan, the more people can be reached in order to put pressure on brands like Nestle and Unilever to make sure the palm oil used to make their chocolates and soaps isn’t coming at the highest price for the world’s rainforests and the orangutans that live there.

You can help by sharing the film and signing the petition at greenpeace.org.uk.

Save Santa's Home Campaign

Santa is at his busiest at this time of year, but his North Pole home is in danger.  Climate change is continuing to melt the polar ice caps and the Arctic is being destroyed.  How do we tell the children that we caused the destruction of Santa's Christmas Emporium making Mr and Mrs Claus, the elves and the reindeer homeless?  Greenpeace has launched a campaign to Save Santa's Home.

Santa has been busy on social media to highlight the problems he is suffering this Christmas.  As bloggers we all understand using social media to vent our anger, share our problems and rally help for a good cause.

Santa has been on Facebook:

He has posted photos on Instagram:

He's even been vlogging to try to get his message out there:

         

This is a brilliantly executed campaign for a really serious problem and Greenpeace is doing its best to Save Santa's Home and protect the Arctic by creating a sanctuary around the North Pole.  We can all help Save Santa's Home and earn ourselves a spot on Santa's good list.

Find out more and join celebrities such as Jude Law, Paul McCartney and Madonna by signing the petition.

https://www.savesantashome.org/

I was happy to help by writing this post and sharing the website details.

Merry Christmas x