Fair & Social: Spotlighting Workers’ Rights During Palm Done Right Month

Published on: October 1, 2024

Celebrating Palm Done Right comes with highlighting our core promises. One of those promises, our commitment to fair and social practices, centers around fair trade practices that prioritize workers’ rights and fight exploitation. 

At Palm Done Right, ethical business practices and social responsibility are an essential part of our mission and sustainable practices, and are integral for the long-term sustainability of the palm oil industry. Our fair and social promise ensures that our production methods support fair treatment of farmers, respect for local communities, and social equity. 

What Does it Mean to be Fair & Social? 

Our fair and social promise means that our production methods prioritize the well-being of people and communities. We are dedicated to ensuring fair labor practices, supporting local economies, and making a positive social impact. Here’s what being fair & social means to us:  

• Fair Wages & Safe Working Conditions: We ensure that all farmers and workers involved in our supply chain are paid fair wages and work in safe conditions. 
• Respect for Workers’ Rights: We uphold workers’ rights, ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect. We actively fight against worker exploitation and make sure all farmers are treated equally. 
• Community Support: We invest in local communities, supporting education, healthcare, and economic initiatives.  
• Inclusive Practices: We promote inclusivity in all aspects of our operations, ensuring all workers are fairly paid and treated well. It’s important to us that the conventional palm oil industry changes to prioritize workers’ rights and to fight against exploitation.  

The Importance of Fair & Social Palm Oil

The conventional palm oil industry has been linked to numerous social issues, from worker exploitation to poor labor practices and violations of workers’ rights. Also known as “conflict” palm oil, this conventional method of production is that which gives palm oil a poor reputation, and causes deforestation, habitat destruction, wildlife displacement, and more. However, with sustainable practices that prioritize the environment, wildlife, and workers’ rights, manufacturers can produce palm oil long-term while helping instead of causing harm.  

Here are just a few ways conflict palm oil impacts workers’ rights: 

• Exploitative Labor Practices: Many workers in the palm oil industry face poor working conditions, low wages, and lack of job security. 
• Child Labor: In some regions, child labor is prevalent in palm oil plantations, depriving children of education and exposing them to hazardous conditions. 
• Community Displacement: Large-scale palm oil plantations often displace local communities, disrupting their lives and livelihoods. 
• Lack of Social Infrastructure: Many communities in palm oil-producing regions lack access to basic social services, such as healthcare and education.

Our Palm Oil is Fair & Social Promise

Our commitment to fair and social palm oil is one of the most important aspects of our mission. We exercise several practices to protect and support farmers, workers and communities: 

• Fair Pay & Work Environments: Ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions is fundamental to our promise of being fair and social. All workers deserve to be paid fairly for their labor and to work in environments that prioritize their health and safety.  
• Prioritizing Workers’ Rights: We are committed to upholding the rights of the people who work on the farms we partner with. We work closely with labor organizations and NGOs to ensure our practices align with international labor standards. 
• Community Investment: We invest in projects that improve the quality of life for members of local communities, such as building schools, healthcare facilities, and infrastructure. We also support local businesses and initiatives that promote economic growth and social well-being. 
• Transparent Supply Chains: A fully traceable supply chain ensures that our standards are upheld. We maintain transparent supply chains and conduct regular internal and third-party audits to continuously improve our practices.  
• Accountability: We hold ourselves and our farmers accountable to ensure fair labor practices are used and complete transparency is upheld throughout our supply chains.  

Why Choose Fair & Social Palm Oil?

By choosing sustainable palm oil made with fair and social practices, consumers, distributors, and suppliers alike can positively impact the palm oil industry and show that fair labor practices are their priority. Choosing ethically sourced palm oil means prioritizing the following:  

• Ethical Production: Using fair and social palm oil means choosing ethical, responsible production that prioritizes workers’ rights. 
• Infrastructure Investments: Investing in the development of local communities helps create stronger infrastructure for the people we work with and their families. By supporting education, healthcare, and economic development, we can empower communities to thrive and improve their quality of life. 
• Improved Working Conditions: Ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions improves the lives of workers and their families. 
• Consumer Trust: Transparency and ethical practices build consumer trust, showing that your products are part of a socially responsible supply chain. This is a bigger concern than ever amongst consumers, and choosing sustainable, ethical palm oil means not only giving consumers a high-quality product, but showing them you care about environmental conservation and workers’ rights. 

Choose Fair & Social Today: Join the Palm Done Right Movement

This Palm Done Right month, we’re pleased to spotlight our commitment to fair and social practices. By supporting ethically-sourced, organic palm oil, you are contributing to positive social practices and prioritizing sustainable palm oil production. This in turn puts pressure on those practicing conventional methods to make the change to organic palm oil production and create a positive future for workers and those who produce palm oil.  

Learn more about our fair and social promise and how you can get involved in our initiative for sustainability and positive social change. We strive to encourage palm oil production that respects the rights and well-being of farmers, supports local communities, and promotes social equality.   

Get involved with us not to learn more about how we can create a sustainable future for all!