Greenpeace protestors target Unilever

10:23am Tuesday 22nd April 2008

Comments (6)   Have your say »

• Play Video

PROTESTORS from environmental action group Greenpeace staged a coup against Unilever by storming the factory at Port Sunlight and chaining themselves to the production line.

The Greendale Road factory was overrrun on Monday with protesters and campaigners dressed in orangutan costumes.

"We may have people dressed in orangutan costumes, but it is to make a serious point."

Sarah Shoraka

Outside they staged a rooftop protest and more than fifty Greenpeace representatives managed to bypass security and march into the building.

The demonstration was part of a national campaign to target Unilever's key brands like Flora, Palmolive, Persil and Comfort which all use palm oil.

Ten of the campaigners chained themselves to the Persil production line, the production of the fabric softener Comfort was bought to a halt by their actions and they also immobilised the shrink wrap area pallets, meaning that no deliveries were able to leave the building.

Other colleagues climbed onto the roof of the factory and unfurled a banner which read: "Unilever - stop destroying the rainforests for palm oil."

Sarah Shoraka, Greenpeace forest campaigner, said: "This was an impromptu protest and Unilever were not expecting us this morning.

"Unilever are the single biggest user of palm oil on the planet. We may have people dressed in orangutan costumes, but it is to make a serious point.

"Unilever buy their palm oil from companies that are destroying the Indonesian rainforests and these rainforests are one of the last places on earth where you can find orang-utans.

"Because of the de-forestation, the animals are forced to go onto the plantations to find food and water- they are then attacked by workers and shot.

"Orang-utans are our closest relatives and they need to be protected."

Head of Bio-Diversity for Greenpeace Andy Tate was invited in to Unilever to talk to site directors. He said: "We have been lobbying for a while and since the back end of last year have been requesting meetings with Unilever, but we have not had much success. This year we need to up the pressure.

"Today I have presented the evidence and a new report, which is a step forward from what they have agreed to do before.

"Unilever use 1.3 tonnes per year of palm oil in their products. They could have a profound influence of the sustainabilty of the rainforests.

"We are not asking them to stop using palm oil, but we are asking them not to buy from their suppliers until their suppliers agree to clean up their practices.

"We also wish to point out to them that there are other suppliers who produce palm oil and who are not endangering the rainforests."

The campaign, which is international, also targeted Unilever factories in Italy and the Netherlands.

Andy Tate added: "There is a meeting in London today between Greenpeace and Unilever decision makers, but if they don't agree we will look at putting more pressure on them."

Police sent in six vans into the factory and there were another two vans outside and seven cars. A helicopter was also deployed to the scene but no arrests were made.

A Unilever spokesperson told the Globe: "We share the same concerns as everyone else about the expansion of palm oil production.

"We do use palm oil in some of our products but we also have a long history of promoting sustainability. For example, in tea and in fish and we are the leaders in the search for solutions to achieving sustainable palm oil.

"We chair the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a wide ranging coalition of organisations including OXFAM, WWF, plantation owners, and manufacturers and retailers.

"In November the RSPO agreed criteria for sustainable palm oil production and these new criteria address many of Greenpeace's concerns. The problem is simply that demand of palm oil has exploded.

"This is due partly to growing demand from India and China and also due to the use of palm oil as a feedstock for biofuels in the energy sector.

"It is essential that all those involved sign up to agreed criteria to make sustainability work on the ground - but this is not an easy process and is taking longer than we all like.

"Nevertheless, we remain absolutely committed to finding a solution. "

Andy Tate from Greenpeace said: "The protest will be ongoing until we get a solution, if Unilever don't agree today we will look at exerting more pressure on them to comply."