Girl Scouts USA Announces Palm Oil Plan for Thin Mints: Greenwash or Game-Changer?

After four years of savvy campaigning by Girl Scout activists Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen, Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) has finally acknowledged its role in rainforest destruction by releasing a commitment regarding its use of palm oil in its iconic cookies. Unfortunately, the statement on palm oil just released is a small step in the [...]

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Join the Race to Save Rainforests And Orangutans: Earn a Renegade Merit Badge!

This post is by Girl Scouts Madison Vorva (age 16) and Rhiannon Tomtishen (age 15), who have been campaigning to get palm oil out of Girl Scout Cookies for the past few years. Five years ago, while doing research for our Girl Scout Bronze Award, we learned that the cultivation of palm oil and palm [...]

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Girl Scout Activists Take America By Storm With Monumental Media Sweep

I had the good fortune of joining rock star Girl Scout activists, Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen, on a whirlwind media tour in New York City that brought their compelling message of rainforest conservation to millions of viewers and readers across the country and beyond — with national TV appearances on ABC, CBS and Fox [...]

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Will Girl Scouts USA Make the Right Choice?

Will Girl Scouts USA CEO Kathy Cloninger make the right choice for future generations of Girl Scouts or not? Last week a reporter from Madi & Rhiannon’s hometown published a powerful piece in their local paper: “Child Labor, orangutans and Thin Mints: Two renegade Girl Scouts raise questions about palm oil used in popular cookies.” [...]

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The Great RSPO Membership Myth: Why Buying from RSPO Members Is Meaningless

“Companies buying palm oil need to be aware that the only way to ensure sustainable sourcing is to buy certified sustainable palm oil from companies that have been assessed against the RSPO standards. Buying from RSPO members is not enough.” – WWF, August 2010 Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) has actively resisted getting rainforest-destroying palm oil [...]

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Thin Mints vs. Orangutan Survival: Girl Scouts Face Moral Dilemma

“Hello, girls. We heard how you’re refusing to sell Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies because they contain palm oil, the production of which might destroy habitat for orangutans in Indonesia. That’s sweet. But listen, you little do-gooders: These are decisions best left to adults.” This quote from Seattle Times columnist Ron Judd gave two determined [...]

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