CHILDREN from Crosscrake CE Primary School have mounted a campaign to persuade companies to stop using palm oil in their products.
Inspired by a topic on tropical rainforests and shocked by the plight of orang-utans, the children in Class 3 (aged between six and nine) asked their teacher Katie Palmer if they could write letters to local and national shops.
The palm oil industry is linked to deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change and animal cruelty as the land and forests must be cleared for the plantations.
"Since writing to 14 local and national companies, we have received several replies explaining what the companies are doing to help," said Ms Palmer. "We have been delighted to see that the vast majority are already members of the RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) and are actively working on ways to further help the situation.
"At first we thought we could try to avoid palm oil completely in our shopping but soon realised this is almost impossible. Instead, the children have been spreading the word about which companies are RSPO-certified, informing families and friends and encouraging everybody to try to make a small difference."
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