Thank you to the Indiependent for exploring the issue surrounding squalane in our cosmetics and many other products.

“Traditionally, the most cost-effective place to source squalane was from a shark’s liver. In particular from deep-sea species, with an estimated 2.7 million sharks being killed each year in the name of beauty. This is in spite of the fact that there are other ethical alternative sources. As Stefanie Brendl, founder and executive director of Shark Allies, says: ‘The fact that shark squalene is used instead of plant-based is mostly a lack of knowledge and awareness on the manufacturer’s side, or simply convenience of sticking with what has been working for years.’

It has been well documented that sharks are crucial to our ocean ecosystems as they keep life balanced on the reef. While the European Union banned targeted shark fishing, this has simply forced the industrial fisheries out to non-protected territories. Brendl criticises the fishing industry’s ‘unwillingness to re-think their methods and unrelenting greed,’ which allows the continued destruction of our oceans. With almost a quarter of shark species endangered, ranging from the formidable great white to the relatively harmless nurse sharks, ‘unrelenting greed’ seems to be the only fitting assessment.”