7 Apr 2016

Three of the world's top food and consumer goods companies that make Dove soap, M&M's and Kellogg's Corn Flakes have dropped a leading Malaysian palm oil producer because of deforestation in its plantations in Indonesia.

Unilever, which owns over 400 brands including Dove, announced last week that it has begun cancelling its supplier agreements with palm oil producer and trader IOI Group over evidence of bad environmental practices in Indonesia.

IOI is Malaysia's No. 2 palm oil company by production and a top 10-listed global palm oil firm. Unilever is one of the world's top buyers of palm and palm kernel oil and refined products.

United States food giants Mars and Kellogg's have also announced that they are in the process of removing IOI as a supplier by progressively dropping contracts with IOI's refining subsidiary IOI Loders Croklaan, which has refineries in Malaysia and Holland…