Along with every Earth Day celebration comes an acknowledgement of the destructive impact of humanity upon our environment, and an acknowledgement of our constant desire to do better. In the coming week, and the months beyond, I want to encourage you to keep those concerns top of mind. Earth Day is not just a celebration, nor a time reserved for mourning and guilt, but a plea and an urging to join the fight. So I challenge you, today and hereafter, to move out of your comfort zone and take steps to combat deforestation, habitat loss and the myriad threats that face orangutans.

• Share this post among your friends across Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. The more people learn about the dangers facing orangutans, the greater our effort to protect them will become. This is the single most important thing you can do to help save the rainforest.

• Give up a product that contains the destructive ingredient of palm oil. If you use skim or 2% milk on a regular basis, switch to whole milk, which does not contain Vitamin A Palmitate. If you eat snack food like Ritz crackers or Oreos, pick a different brand. Instead of your standard shampoo, try out sustainable options like the Acure brand or a shampoo bar. It can be any product you like, and while palm oil is pervasive, making the switch does not need to be difficult.

• Educate yourself about the palm oil issue through the Orangutan Gang’s video series, Conservation Clips. These videos offer quick, on-the-go summaries about threats facing the rainforest and how you can help.

• If you’re feeling plucky, you can contact a company using the Orangutan Gang’s form letter. Rainforest Action Network has a great list of ‘environmentally challenged” high-impact companies from which you can pick your target.

Why not take one of these steps? Why not choose to stand up for endangered orangutans and their ecosystem? Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of countless species.

Today, the rainforest is counting on you.

~Pangaea Finn
Founder and Director

Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you plan to enjoy a candlelit dinner with that special someone, cuddle up on the couch with a sweetheart and a Hallmark rom-com, or just spend some quality time on your own, Valentine’s Day has one universal: chocolate. And, as we know here at the Orangutan Gang, chocolate also has one universal: palm oil.

What’s more, almost all fancy chocolate boxes contain palm oil, as do many Valentine’s Day editions of otherwise innocuous candies. When searching for candy, don’t forget to check the ingredients for items like “palm kernel oil”, “vitamin A palmitate”, and “glycerin”, which are often related to or derived from palm oil. And if you want to be extra sure, download the PalmSmart app and scan suspicious candies.

The Orangutan Gang wishes you a sweet Valentine’s Day… and reminds you of the endangered species counting on you to show them some love.

Thank you for saving the rainforest today!

~Pangaea Finn
Founder and Director

This New Year’s Day, we celebrate change and renewal. We’ve survived through a figurative winter much longer than these past few months, and now we can begin to rebuild. On a personal level, this may take the form of major resolutions, but the crisis we have experienced, and the dangers we continue to face, necessitate a stronger and more collaborative approach.

Our environment works as a system: ecology is driven not by individual, discrete phenomena, but by the interactions and cooperations between species. But when these processes are disrupted by wanton deforestation and palm oil monocrops, these same environmental and ecological interactions can drive complex and destructive consequences.

The palm oil industry is similar. The cause of these looming threats is deforestation, yes; but at its root that destruction is driven by a complex interaction between forestry companies, manufacturers, suppliers, and consumers- consumers like us. While we pledge to spend more time with family, endangered species and valuable habitats continue to face insurmountable threats. While we resolve to get a gym membership, constant degradation of ancient rainforests sparks wildfires and pumps carbon into the atmosphere.

But our status as a key part of this system means we have power over its consequences. This year, resolve to use that power, and remind the system of what it’s tearing apart. Contact companies and encourage them to step up. Spread the word among your family and friends. Vote with your wallet, and relieve irresponsible companies of their dirty profits. And use your interactions to drive positive change.

So, as a planet, let’s make our resolution together. Let’s take better care of ourselves.

~Pangaea Finn
Founder and Director

This Halloween, your house will be accosted by ghosts, ghouls, and gremlins of every variety! Candy is perhaps your only defense against those terrors that await us under the moon! But before you select your brand of choice, keep in mind that candy can be dangerous too. Help save the planet this Halloween by supporting sustainable companies and becoming a conscious consumer. Check out our comprehensive overview of candy conservation at https://orangutangang.org/2022/10/01/spooky-scary-sustainability/.