KUALA LUMPUR - Consumers are being conned about the sustainability of the palm oil used to make products from cosmetics and foodstuff to biofuels, said a report by an international environmental group on Sunday .
But the United Kingdom-based Environmental Investigation Agency has accused the RSPO of"effectively giving false environmental credibility to its products, commonly known as 'greenwashing'. "Companies and consumers are assuming that this certified palm oil is actually good, is really not causing environmental damage or resulting in social conflict. But what we're finding is in so many of these cases, there are unresolved issues, there are land conflicts that are still ongoing, forest clearing is still happening and wildlife habitats that are still being destroyed," she said in a statement.
RSPO later said in a statement that there were"glaring inaccuracies" in the report and that it was"an easy target for groups that are not actively trying to solve the problem, and instead are trying to bring down those that are."