The latest RTRS meeting took place last week when participants unanimously agreed a set of voluntary production standards to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of soy production.
Lack of cooperation from the cosmetics industry
Created in Switzerland in 2006, the RTRS is a global initiative bringing together producers, industry, finance and trade representatives and government organizations.
There were no cosmetics companies present at the roundtable discussions, even though the use of soy bean as an emollient in cosmetics has played a part in the increasing global demand for soy bean oil.
Production of soy bean oil has been increasing in the cosmetics industry, particularly with the ongoing rise of interest in natural and organic products. Companies such as Dow Corning and Elevance have been using soy bean oil as a replacement for petroleum in cosmetics.
Javier Bartoli Pinero from Responsible Soy told Cosmetics Design that although there were currently no cosmetics companies present in the Round Table, they would welcome their participation.
Carrie Svingen, WWF Forest Conversion Programme Coordinator, also stated that WWF would like to see more cosmetics companies at the roundtable discussions and would be pursuing this prospect in the near future.
She told Cosmetics Design that companies such as L’Oreal had taken part in the roundtable discussions on sustainable palm oil and she would like to see similar representation at the soy bean discussions.
Although she stated that she did not have the figures to hand to represent the contribution of cosmetics companies in soy bean oil production, she said that this was something they would be looking into.
Confidence in Roundtable talks
The soy industry has long been criticized for causing deforestation, displacing indigenous people and destroying natural habitats, particularly in South America.
At the group’s fourth international conference in Brazil last week, a unanimous agreement was reached which set in place a set of ‘principles and criteria’ to ensure improvement in production practices. This means engaging in good agricultural practices, dialogue with surrounding communities and adopting good business practices.
The RTRS has set up a 12 month field test period to trial its initiatives, starting May 28th 2009. It will then review farm impacts and adapt the agreement accordingly at their next meeting in 2010.
Ms Svingen told Cosmetics Design that WWF was not disheartened by the poor performance of the companies involved in the Round Table on sustainable Palm Oil.
She said that although round table discussions “are clearly not the only solution, they are an important tool” in reaching the overall goal of stopping deforestation.
She added that WWF will be doing all it can to ensure that there are enough motivations for companies to abide by the roundtable agreement on soy bean oil.
Although she said that the market had been slow on the uptake, she was confident that it would pick up.