Put your stamp on elephant conservation this World Elephant Day! Use the new 'Elephants' Forever Stamp (or stamp of your choice) to write a letter to an organization, family member, or group teaching them about palm oil or thanking them for using sustainably sourced palm oil!
Instructions
First, read below to learn more about palm oil and its effects on elephant habitats.
Then, choose whether to write a letter to a corporation encouraging sustainable palm oil usage or to a friend or family member asking them to join you in taking action! Sample letters are provided for easy download.
Lastly, make sure to pick up the new Elephants Forever stamp at your local U.S. Post Office and use it to mail your letter!
What is Palm Oil?
Palm oil is a great thing, but only when it is grown outside of wild elephant habitats. Palm oil makes up 60% of all vegetable oils on the market and is used every day in our households.
- Palm oil has a smooth and creamy texture, making it ideal for blending and processing to form products
- It is odorless, tasteless and colorless, meaning it doesn’t alter the smell, taste or look of products
- It maintains its properties even under high temperatures, making it ideal for cooking and frying
- It acts as a natural preservative, giving products a longer shelf-life
Over 80% of palm oil is grown in Indonesia and Malaysia. These are two of the most biodiverse countries on the planet and are where wild elephants can be found.
When palm oil is grown sustainably, it means that no trees from the forest were cut down to make room for new palm oil plantations.
View how committed various organizations and brands are to sustainable palm oil use at palmoilscorecard.panda.org.
Purchase sustainable palm oil by using the PalmOil Scan app, which is an easy way to help elephants as you shop!
Now that you know a little more about palm oil, we invite you to write a letter to either a corporation encouraging sustainable palm oil use or to a friend or family member to ask them to join you in taking action for more sustainable palm oil!
Click to download and print the sample letters below:
Sample Letter: Encourage a corporation
Sample Letter: Ask a loved one to join you
As you are writing, you'll see blank lines where you can fill in tips for your loved one to teach them how they can promote sustainable palm oil too. Use our list of Ways to Take Action below if you need help filling this in! With your encouragement, perhaps your loved one will download the Palm Scan app, send a letter to a corporation themselves, or start supporting companies like Mars and P&G when they are shopping. It could inspire them to learn even more about palm oil and share their new knowledge with their friends and family too!
Feel free to research other companies to write a letter to using the Palm Oil Scorecard.
Lastly, put a new Elephants Forever Stamp on your letter and drop it in the mailbox!
You can purchase stamps here.
