Unilever - finally

In my quest to get some straight answers from the users of palm oil I've been pestering various companies for the past few months. The company that has so far taken the longest to respond is Unilever, and yet I imagine they are one of the larger users of palm oil that I have so far contacted. This is what they have to say:

"Palm oil is widely used in food and personal care products, and contributes to the economic development of the producing countries, as well as to the diets of millions of people around the world. Demand for palm oil is only expected to increase, however it is recognised that there are environmental issues around the expansion to eco-sensitive areas.

Since 2002, Unilever has been working with the conservation group WWF, plantation owners and other commercial users to devise standards for sustainable production. This is being done through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The principal objective of the RSPO is to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil through co-operation within the supply chain and open dialogue with stakeholders.

I hope this has reassured you about the use of palm oil in our products, and I will pass your comments on to our Product Development team. We welcome all consumer feedback - both positive and negative - as it helps us to improve our products and policies, so thank you for taking the time to contact us."

Yes, it's another standard letter saying all the right things, that they are working with the RSPO and towards sustainable palm oil, but I'm now losing my patience with this stock reply (as you will see if you read the others I have been given, they're all pretty much the same). Unilever has failed to answer my questions on which products contain palm oil and why it isn't clearly labelled (so far only Green & Blacks has admitted which products have the oil in, and I have more respect for them because of it - and I can choose not to eat them). I really believe that no one is actually reading my letters - they see the title 'Palm Oil' and send out the same old response. I think I will go back to Unilever and ask the questions again - but I'm not sure when I'll get an answer - if ever!