House Brands

Generally we don't recommend house brands as they (1) do not disclose who supplies the product - you don't know 'where your dollar is going', and (2) channel money to the big supermarket chains. Supermarket owned brands (known as 'private label' or generic 'house brands') command a 23 per cent market share, expected to rise to 30 per cent in the near future. House brands mean big profits for supermarkets. As major supermarket chains give more shelf space to their own brand items, name brand products are squeezed off the shelves. This means less choice, both for customers, with the disappearance of familiar brands, and for Australian farmers and manufacturers, who often find that they must sell through the supermarkets' own brands. They are forced to compete with cheaper, often heavily subsidised, foreign imports.

Woolworths Ltd released a Sustainable Palm Oil Action Plan in March 2010 whereby the company commits to moving to certified sustainable palm oil from RSPO members by 2015 for all Woolworths private label products (Select and Homebrand). It has also committed to on-pack labelling of palm oil and derivatives for all these products (where oil is a listed ingredient ie excludes trace oils potentially present in emulsifiers etc). Coles lists its private brand products which are either palm oil free or contain certified sustainable palm oil on its website. It has begun purchasing GreenPalm certificates to offset its palm oil use and has committed to move to CSPO in all Coles branded products by 2015. Coles is an RSPO member. [Information directly from BOSA website]  [Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia]