Why are so many companies take tallow out?

[ironbrewer]

It seems like most of the european companies are taking Tallow out of their shaving cream recipes. It seems from research that I have done that many of these companies did have tallow at some time. Is the European Union making them?? If so is there some logical reason why they are taking it out?

Just wondering.

 

[Leche]

I think to be "friendlier" to animals, although palm oil harvesting is very destructive. Waste of tallow if you ask me (the animal is goin to die anyway for food) and an inferior product.

 

[tnewswander]

It's primarily for animal cruelty & vegan reasons as far as I can tell. The British royal family and many other Europeans are demanding that it goes so it goes for the company to continue sales. I guess the argument would be that not using tallow prevents animals from being hurt, but I seriously doubt it's the primary product so the animals will still be slaughtered for meat and the tallow thrown away instead of being used. Meanwhile all the soaps & creams are going to coconut and palm oil (palm oil is becoming endangered by the way) so we're losing even more biodiversity in our lives (only coconut & palm oil in all our cosmetics and only corn syrup in all our food). To read an interesting article on biodiversity problems click here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8467746.stm

 

[mdunn]

It's primarily for animal cruelty & vegan reasons as far as I can tell. The British royal family and many other Europeans are demanding that it goes so it goes for the company to continue sales. I guess the argument would be that not using tallow prevents animals from being hurt, but I seriously doubt it's the primary product so the animals will still be slaughtered for meat and the tallow thrown away instead of being used. Meanwhile all the soaps & creams are going to coconut and palm oil (palm oil is becoming endangered by the way) so we're losing even more biodiversity in our lives (only coconut & palm oil in all our cosmetics and only corn syrup in all our food). To read an interesting article on biodiversity problems click here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8467746.stm

yah, plus its probably cheaper too, which helps.

Does this mean the royals are going to get rid of the ermine collar on their robes, and start wearing plastic shoes and belts?

I think not.

What a crock.

 

[GoldenMonkey]

Those reasons aside, it's probably cheaper and faster to produce non-tallow soaps, but that's just my guess.

 

[Saltysteele]

I think to be "friendlier" to animals, although palm oil harvesting is very destructive. Waste of tallow if you ask me (the animal is goin to die anyway for food) and an inferior product.

+2!

palm oil is a very environmentally destructive oil to obtain.

tallow is relatively cheap, it is a byproduct (they don't kill the animal just for it's fat), and would just go to into suit cakes for the birds if we didn't have such an important use for it!

 

[Ignatius]

yah, plus its probably cheaper too, which helps.

Not a factor.

Palmolive tallow-based stick sells here for £0.25p.

It's for 'ethical' reasons.

The question is, what happens when the PR dept. at Penhaligan's, Trumpers etc find out what Palm Oil cultivation is doing to the rainforests (and people, and most importantly...animals) of south east asia?

Olive Oil based soaps perhaps?

 

[ironbrewer]

The Palm oil I have found is much more expensive than Tallow. I have actually talked to environmentalists ( I live near Boulder, Colorado) and most that I know think tallow is better for the environment. If there was no beef production, they would probably lean towards palm oil with the argument that without beef production there would be much more land available for palm production. As it is now the forest destuction to increase palm oil production is horrible, and I don't think people are going to stop eating beef anytime soon. I decided to use tallow in my shaving cream for a better product and less environmental destruction. It is interesting that the royal family has so much power. I was thinking that it had to be for some weird health concern.

 

[Saltysteele]

i can get 50 pounds of tallow for 40 bucks, 50 pounds of palm oil for 51. not a big difference.

 

[goby]

I think it might be due to something else....

I think they changed their formula when the Mad Cow Disease started. If cosmetics were banned for export/import because they had tallow, it could be devastating financially.

I am a vegetarian, and try not to use tallow. I would like to believe us vegetarians are so powerful that we could get tallow out of soap, but I highly doubt it. We are less than 10% of the population, and it's hard enough to find found at a restaurant other than the usual salad, etc. If we were that powerful or populous, McDonald's would be serving Gardenburgers or fries without tallow. I really think it's because of Mad Cow Disease.

BTW, by using tallow, leather, etc, we are supporting the meat industry by reducing the cost of meat. If there were no other uses for cow other than meat, a burger would cost $20.00. (just a guess, but I bet it's on the internet somewhere).

I'm not preaching, and I don't boycott tallow. In fact, I have a stick of Arko that's made with tallow. BTW, if you haven't smelled tallow, it smells just like a urinal cake.

 

[tweedcab]

i can get 50 pounds of tallow for 40 bucks, 50 pounds of palm oil for 51. not a big difference.

Salty,

Interesting info there. I would never have known how much these raw materials cost, but how much end product these quantities produce is probably the more important fiscal factor. All that aside, I'm surprised at the number of opinions that the ethical treatment of animals/animal cruelty is the driving force behind the exclusion of tallow. I'll say this. Considering the amount of by product that the meat industry produces in terms of fat, I'll bet that the quantity of that which is used in the production of shave soap other tallow based cosmetics is hardly even measurable in more that thousandths of a percent. This stuff is abundant, and NO animals are killed for their fat alone. I suspect that perhaps the potential for disease may have contributed to a discontinuation of their inclusion. Remember mad cow disease? Just a thought, but I doubt that TOO MANY animals were being killed for our shave soap. Just my thoughts. I'd love a true reason from a reliable source.

Edit: Sorry for the redundancy Goby. I was composing my thoughts while you were posting.

 

[Pricklycactus]

LUSH soaps are now palm free but they don't cure their soaps long enough. I had some that I was hoarding for a few months and they have finally hardened into a long lasting soap.

 

[jkenton]

I bet it is for some DUMB reason like Perception of Market Desire. Lots of companies make dumb decisions based on what they think the market wants. (Remember New Coke?)

Opposed to this is the argument "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If a company stood resolute and said "This soap MUST be tallow, for nothing else compares," that company would be rewarded by market share.

Also, companies that retain their tallow will find that their raw materials become more plentiful and thus less expensive. The market for beef is not going down, after all.

The final answer rests with the companies themselves. Has anyone asked one of the companies?

 

[urr-lord]

generally for p.c. purposes.kissing up to ignorant feel good types. .personally i think not using all of an animal is disrespectful.IMO

 

[Groundhog]

....In fact, I have a stick of Arko that's made with tallow. BTW, if you haven't smelled tallow, it smells just like a urinal cake.

No, that's not tallow, it's just the Arko.

 

[dannywonderful]

It is interesting that the royal family has so much power. I was thinking that it had to be for some weird health concern.

They don't and I doubt they care that much. I have no idea where the idea that the Royal Family are making soap makers change their formulas came from.

 

[Pricklycactus]

With the whole mad cow thing, the English probably had to rethink everything they have from soaps to eating sheep's brains. So let's not be hasty in being negative about the change until we actually know the reason. Why doesn't some one ask the 3Ts?

 

[dpm802]

yah, plus its probably cheaper too, which helps

I think this is the ultimate reason. The bottom line drives everything in business, and if a company can lower their costs by introducing a cheaper ingredient, they do it.

This is the reason that Coca-Cola switched to HFCS from real sugar. It had nothing to do with taste or consumer desire or being eco-friendly. It was all about improving profits.

 

[goby]

generally for p.c. purposes.kissing up to ignorant feel good types. .personally i think not using all of an animal is disrespectful.IMO

There is nothing ignorant about not wanting to use animal products. Some people think using any part of an animal is disrespectful.

 

[ironbrewer]

I didn't mean to start a flame war. I really wanted to know. At my suppliers Palm Oil is about 20% more cost. Palm oil and tallow go just as far in terms of finished product. It is interesting to me. Goby I actually do care about these things. I talked to a few people that I know about opinions. I think that the small amount of tallow that some soap makers use will not drive the beef market one way or another. I know that you could argue that every bit helps. If that is what you want, and I agree that if most people were vegetarian or ate much less meat the planet would be in better shape.That said, I really don't think at this time people are anywhere near ready to stop consuming meat. You need to make choices. I think that the palm oil market is probably easier to effect, and it is having bad impacts on the Asian rain forests.