Who knew we were killing sweet baby orangutans by buying food and soap made with palm oil?
The folks behind Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics apparently did, and on Wednesday the international chain staged an afternoon “protest” at 83 of its stores in the United States and Canada to raise awareness — and perhaps sell some of the company’s palm-oil-free soap.
Orangutan experts say palm oil plantations, along with deforestation and the logging industry, are encroaching on the apes’ natural habitat, further endangering the already-vulnerable species.
“They may be the first great ape to go extinct,” said Danielle Fogarty, senior keeper in the primate department at the Brookfield Zoo.
At the Lush store at 859 W. Armitage Ave. in Lincoln Park, the message appeared lost on passersby Wednesday afternoon. Many, engrossed in their cell phones and iPods or manning baby strollers, didn’t hear sales associate Kate Jennings’ cheerful pitch: “Lush is going palm oil-free!”
As part of the promotion, customers were encouraged to soak their hands in green, water-based paint, then press their palms against the storefront window. The combined green palm prints were meant to symbolize palm tree leaves.
Carrie Dall, a 23-year-old graduate student in social work at Loyola University, was one of the few adults game enough to dip her hand in the paint.
“I didn’t quite understand how the oil will affect the rain forest,” she said, but “I thought the imagery of the green was cool.”
The midday push didn’t just build awareness about the plight of the animals. Store manager Kelly McNulty said sales were up too.