Why We Make Soap Without Palm Oil
Turn over almost any bar of soap and you’ll find palm oil, though rarely under that name. It’s the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, and in soap it does real work: it makes a bar hard, long-lasting and creamy.
So when we started KON, leaving it out wasn’t the easy choice. It was a deliberate one. Here’s why, and what we use instead.
Where palm oil comes from
Oil palm supplies around 40% of the world’s vegetable oil, and about 85% of all palm oil comes from just two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia. In parts of that region, much of it has been planted on land that was once tropical rainforest. In Malaysian Borneo, oil palm plantations account for more than half of local deforestation in recent decades, and the crop is linked to more threatened species on the IUCN Red List than any other oil crop.
Why we chose to leave it out
For us, it came down to two things.
The first is traceability. Palm oil moves through long, complex supply chains, and tracing a single drop back to the plantation it came from is difficult. We wanted an ingredient list we could stand behind line by line.
The second is heritage. In the Levant, soap was made from olive oil for centuries before palm oil ever reached a soap factory. Building our bars on olive oil from Madaba, Jordan, isn’t a substitute. It’s a return to how soap was made in this part of the world.
How to spot palm oil on a label
Palm oil rarely says “palm oil” on a soap label. Look for:
- Sodium Palmate
- Sodium Palm Kernelate
- Elaeis Guineensis, the oil palm’s botanical name
- Palm Kernel Oil
If you see any of these, the bar contains palm. You won’t find them on ours.
What we use instead
Every KON bar starts with olive oil pressed in Madaba. Olive oil soap is one of the oldest traditions in the region: the soap houses of Nablus and Aleppo have made it for centuries.
On its own, olive oil makes a gentle but soft bar. To build the firmness and lather palm usually provides, we pair it with:
- Shea butter, for a creamy, firm bar
- Coconut oil, for a rich, bubbly lather
- Sweet almond oil, for a smooth, silky feel
- Castor oil, to help the lather last
- Kaolin clay, for a soft, smooth texture
Then we give it time. Each bar is poured into its own mold and cured for four weeks before it’s boxed, which lets it harden naturally and last longer in your shower.
What it means for you
A palm-free bar isn’t a compromise. It’s a different way of building the same qualities, closer to how soap was made in this part of the world for generations.
Read the back of any KON box and you’ll see exactly what’s inside. That’s the standard we started with: an ingredient list worth reading.
Why KON
Every KON bar was made without palm oil from the start, not reformulated to drop it later. The base is olive oil pressed in Madaba, Jordan, scented only with plants and natural essential oils, with the full ingredient list printed on every box.
Frequently asked questions
What does palm-free soap mean?
It means the soap contains no palm oil or palm kernel oil, and none of the ingredients made from them, such as sodium palmate or sodium palm kernelate.
Why do some brands avoid palm oil?
Palm oil has been linked to significant deforestation in Southeast Asia, and its long supply chains make it hard to trace. We leave it out because we want a short, traceable ingredient list built on Madaba olive oil.
How do I know if my soap contains palm oil?
Check the ingredient list for palm oil, palm kernel oil, Elaeis guineensis, sodium palmate or sodium palm kernelate.
Are all KON soaps palm-free?
Yes. Every KON bar, including our African Black and African Mist bars, is made without palm oil.
Is palm-free soap as hard and long-lasting?
It can be. We use shea butter, coconut oil and castor oil for firmness and lather, and cure each bar for four weeks so it lasts.