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Cruelty-free giant Lush is launching a limited edition bar of vegan soap to help save orangutans on Novmeber 30.
The brand has teamed up with Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) and its local partner on the ground, Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) to re-launch its #SOSsumatra campaign, which it first ran in November 2017.
During its first outing, the campaign raised £126,014 which made it possible for SOS and OIC to purchase and restore an initial 50 hectares of palm plantation. This year, Lush wants to raise awareness about deforestation, as well as help SOS and OIC purchase another 50 hectares of palm plantation to restore.
Vegan orangutan soap
To help raise the funds, Lush has created 14,600 Orangutan soaps, which have a patchouli and orange fragrance and are made from an extra virgin coconut oil soap base from Nias (an island off mainland Sumatrato) – sell in its European stores and online. They will also be available online in North America.
“Every penny of each Orangutan soap sold for £8.25 (minus VAT) will go towards this cause and help claim back land for wild orangutans,” Lush said in a statement sent to Plant Based News. “With only 14,600 being made, this orange and patchouli oil soap, with Sumatran extra virgin coconut oil, is as precious as the primate it is helping protect.
“Make sure to get yours while you can, because once they’re gone they’re gone … much like the orangutans of the Sumatran forest.”
Helping the orangutans
“Last year’s sales of the Orangutan Soap enabled us to buy a 50 hectare plot of land, used as an oil palm plantation, on the edge of the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra,” said Helen Buckland, Director of SOS.
“Work is well underway in re-greening this land, with the oil palms having been removed and rainforest tree seedlings being nurtured and planted. Within a few short years, this area will once again become lush, vibrant habitat for orangutans and so many other species.
“We recently learned of another opportunity to purchase a really key strip of land a little further to the south, also on the edge of the Leuser Ecosystem. This land, at a site called Cinta Raja, is currently a weak spot on the border of the national park, where human-wildlife conflict, poaching and incursions into the forest are rife…Sales from the Orangutan Soap this year will enable us to create a safe and secure buffer zone, which means a whole tranche of pristine forest can be protected forever.”
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