Production of tar sands oil destroys Canada's Boreal Forest and fresh water, pollutes the air, and generates more global warming pollution than conventional oil production, according to campaign group ForestEthics.
Communities downstream and downwind of Tar Sands projects are facing elevated levels of rare cancers, it claimed.
Tar sands are huge deposits of bitumen, a tar-like substance that’s turned into oil through complex and energy-intensive processes that cause widespread environmental damage
(Source: ForestEthics)
Avoiding tar sand sources
Lush Canada has specifically required its fuel vendors to avoid fuel from refineries connected to the Canadian source of oil.
"Canada's Tar Sands are an unethical source of fuel for shipping LUSH products," said Shama Alexander, environmental officer with Lush.
At the request of its customer, Lush, trucking company Concord required assurance from its fuel vendors that they were taking steps to avoid fuel from US refineries taking input from Canada's tar sands.
"Our primary transportation partners respect our ethics and are helping us remove the Tar Sands from our footprint."
US direct sales company Avon has also asked its transportation providers to avoid high impact fuels.
"Avon recognizes its responsibility to the environment and the world's forests," said Tod Arbogast, vice president of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility with Avon.
"That's why we've asked our transportation partners to take steps that will avoid high impact, high carbon fuels such as those from the Tar Sands."
Mirroring corporate actions of others
The actions taken by Avon, Lush and Concord mirror those taken by other large companies at the request of ForestEthics.
"Large buyers of fuel and transportation services are strengthening their resolve against Canada's dirty tar sands oil," explained Aaron Sanger, director of US Campaigns at ForestEthics.
"The US market for this increasingly controversial product is becoming more uncertain."
To date, ten major companies and one US city have publicly announced actions that either specifically focus on Canada's tar sands or create standards that will limit fuels such as those from the tar sands.