The bloody products from the house of Unilever

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am dismayed by the recent acts of violence in the province of Jambi in Sumatra of which you probably have been informed.

Once again, one of Wilmar’s subsidiaries (PT Asiatic Persada) has hired the paramilitary combat unit Brimob to intimidate indigenous people and peasants, aim guns at them and drive them off their land. At least one man has been badly injured by being shot in the back; the homes of 40 families have been ransacked and completely destroyed.

Once again, the background is the ongoing conflict between the palm oil industry and the native people who have lived for generations in the rainforest – which is systematically destroyed in favour of giant industrial monocultures for two decades now. The inhabitants, the tropical nature with its invaluable biodiversity and our climate fall by the wayside: Due to the destruction of its rainforests, Indonesia is the world’s third largest carbon dioxide emitter. As you certainly know, one of your biggest palm oil suppliers, Wilmar International, is responsible for illegal logging and severe human rights violations.
For years now, local and international environmental and human rights organisations have been documenting these activities and making their proofs accessible to the world. This is a type of corporate policy that a global company like Unilever should not tolerate in any case – not even for the companies that act as suppliers.

In 2008, you already informed your customers about buying “sustainable palm oil” as of 2009 and about solely using “sustainably grown” palm oil as of 2015. However, in Central Calimantan near Sampit for example a palm oil plantation is established that is 100 kilometres long and up to 8 kilometres wide. The lion’s share belongs to Wilmar. How can such a monoculture that is supposed to carry a high yield with the aid of fertilizers and pesticides be sustainable?

Industrial plantations are not sustainable – several NGOs have repeatedly demonstrated this. All the seals and labels in the world cannot change this fact. Moreover, the credibility of a company is seriously called into question, if said company has a plantation certified (e.g. Mustika Sembuluh in Central Calimantan, a subsidiary of Wilmar) and at the same time cuts down the forest for others without approval and drives peasants off their land.

I urge you to consistently replace the palm oil in your products with native fats and to reconsider your collaboration with Wilmar.

Respectfully,