The Home of the Orangutans
We can’t think of the Orangutans without thinking of rain forests. That’s where they live, after all. Or they did….until much of these rainforests in Indonesia were burned to the ground to make way for palm oil or pulp paper plantations. In the last 20 years, almost 80% of orangutan habitat has been destroyed.
An Endangered Species
Over 6,000 orangutans lose their lives every year. They live in the trees, so with mass deforestation comes the loss of their homes and their food supply. The now homeless orangutans either starve to death, die in the forest fires, or are killed by the plantation workers who consider them to be pests. They are also hunted for their meat and mothers are killed for their babies which are then sold on the black market as pets.
There are 2 species of orangutan: the Sumatran orangutan which is now critically endangered and the Bornean species which is endangered. Orangutans are the slowest reproducing species in the world which makes them particularly prone to extinction. For the Sumatran orangutans, extinction is likely in the next 10 years.
Enter the Orangutan Project
Leif Cocks founded the project in 1998 after working with these animals for over 30 years. The project is not-for-profit and works to support orangutan conservation, protect the rainforests and rehabilitate and reintroduce displaced orangutans back into the wild. There are currently over 2000 orphaned orangutans living in care centres in Borneo and Sumatra and to date, over 150 orangutans have been rehabilitated and released back into their natural habitat.
Their scope of work is wide reaching and includes providing technical and financial support to orangutan care centres, running forest patrols to stop illegal logging and to protect released animals, creating scholarships and running educational courses for local communities, and working towards natural forest rehabilitation. Efforts to protect the rainforests are of critical importance as deforestation has contributed as much as 20% to global warming. Their achievements in 2014/15 are shown in this cool infographic on the left.
The mission of the Orangutan Project is clear:
To promote the survival of the Sumatran and Bornean orangutan species in their natural habitat by undertaking genuine, measurable and effective orangutan conservation.
So…what can we do…??
Being aware when we shop is a great place to start. Palm oil is found in around 50% of what we buy, including food, cleaning products and skincare. If you want to avoid palm oil, Auckland Zoo has a very comprehensive shopping guide which includes a list of products that are palm oil free and useful information about what you might see in the ingredients list if palm oil is present in a product.
Zoo Deodorant
Another way to shop is to look for companies that support causes like these directly. Zoo Deodorant is a great Vendor that joined the marketplace recently and they donate 50c from the sale of every pot of their natural deodorant directly to the Orangutan Project. You can shop for Zoo Deodorant here.
The name Zoo is a memorable one but surprisingly has no connection with their choice of charity. I am reliably informed that the term is more representative of their household on a busy morning…. I am sure many of us can relate!!
The Product
These guys are new on the scene and have developed a natural deodorant cream which is totally free of any palm oil or its derivatives. They wanted to create an effective product that was suitable for people with sensitive skin – baking soda is found in many natural deodorants and can be an irritant to some people. And so, after a lot of trial and error, they came up with Zoo which uses Himalayan salt instead of baking soda.
The Cause
But they wanted more. They wanted Zoo to be special. They wanted to contribute more than just a great deodorant to this world. And when you buy it, they want you to feel special too. Like you have also contributed something ‘more’, so they went about choosing a worthy cause to support. And the Orangutan Project is certainly very worthy.
Zoo chose to support the Orangutan Project because of the great work they do which benefits not only the orangutans but also other endangered species impacted by the loss of their habitat including the Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros, and Asian elephant. I’m guessing they might also have a soft spot for the orange furry ‘person of the forest’…??!! But let’s be honest…. who doesn’t??!!
So, welcome to the marketplace Zoo Deodorant and what a great cause you have chosen to support. We high five you!!
Thanks to The Orangutan Project for their kind permission to use their image and infographic.
