Cincinnati, USA, 4 March 2014 – Greenpeace released a spoof video of the Procter & Gamble’s “Thank You Mom” advertisement showing how deforestation for palm oil is orphaning orangutans in Indonesian. Greenpeace activists also took action today at P&G’s global headquarters in a protest with a ‘tiger’ hanging from a zip line between the company’s two iconic buildings.“P&G is buying palm oil linked to rainforest destruction, to make every day products like Head & Shoulders. Rainforest destruction is endangering species like the Sumatran tiger and orangutan. P&G should become a proud sponsor of rainforests, and immediately commit to No Deforestation,” said Joao Talocchi, Greenpeace USA forest campaigner.
The nine activists involved in the protest, one of whom dressed in a tiger costume while hanging from the zipline, unfurled two 18-meter banners from the buildings with the message “Head & Shoulders: Stop Putting Tiger Survival on the Line” and “Head & Shoulders: Wipes out Dandruff & Rainforests”.
“It’s time P&G stop pretending it’s palm oil is guaranteed ‘sustainable’ and set a policy that goes beyond the current weak standards it relies on. If other big companies like Nestlé, Unilever, and L’Oreal can commit to L’Oréal No Deforestation, then so can P&G,” said Areeba Hamid, Greenpeace International forest campaigner.
P&G’s Thank You Mom campaign celebrates the role mothers play in raising Olympic champions, but Greenpeace challenges the company on the role it is playing in destroying the forest homes of animals.
“While Procter & Gamble advertise about motherhood, companies that produce palm oil for P&G have been making orphans out of orangutans. Together, we can get P&G to commit to only using forest-friendly palm oil,” said Areeba Hamid.
Controversial palm oil producers in P&G’s supply chain have been linked to orangutan deaths, orangutan habitat clearance and its weak sourcing polices expose consumers to tiger habitat clearance and illegal forest fires. Since Greenpeace revealed the findings from its year-long investigation, P&G has claimed to be committed to “sustainable” practices.
Greenpeace has confronted P&G over the last eight months with how it’s exposing consumers to forest destruction, but it has not responded with a No Deforestation commitment and has been deleting comments criticizing its inaction on its social media platforms in Brazil and Philippines.
Indonesia’s forests are disappearing at a rate of more than nine Olympic swimming pools each minute, with forest destruction for palm oil the biggest driver. Greenpeace believes palm oil can be grown responsibly, but companies like P&G must first commit to No Deforestation.