Could everyday products be linked to haze? Why sustainable sourcing remains a challenge

As Singapore investigates companies over possible links to the haze, experts say sustainability certification can provide some assurance that green standards have been met, but does not guarantee that products are free from causing environmental harm.

Various brands of tissue paper and other paper products are displayed at a supermarket. (Image: CNA)

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SINGAPORE: Could the products in our shopping baskets be linked to the fires causing haze in Singapore?

The question has come into focus amid renewed scrutiny of Indonesia’s palm oil and pulp-and-paper industries, which supply raw materials used in everyday products such as cooking oil, soaps and tissues.

Singapore has issued preventive notices to 10 companies in Indonesia over fires potentially linked to transboundary haze.

Among them are three wood-fibre suppliers to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which is behind tissue paper brands such as Paseo and Nice.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less APP's enhanced Singapore Green Label certification – which covers environmental requirements including sustainably sourced fibre, zero land burning and peatland management – has also been placed under temporary restrictions . Under the restrictions, APP must submit daily reports on fire hotspots and firefighting measures in concession areas managed by the suppliers. The company previously came under scrutiny during the severe haze in 2015. At the time, major Singapore retailers removed products linked to it from their shelves over alleged connections to fires. More than a decade on, how much has sustainable sourcing improved, and what role can consumers realistically play in checking where their products come from?

APP's enhanced Singapore Green Label certification – which covers environmental requirements including sustainably sourced fibre, zero land burning and peatland management – has also been placed under temporary restrictions .

Under the restrictions, APP must submit daily reports on fire hotspots and firefighting measures in concession areas managed by the suppliers.

The company previously came under scrutiny during the severe haze in 2015. At the time, major Singapore retailers removed products linked to it from their shelves over alleged connections to fires.

More than a decade on, how much has sustainable sourcing improved, and what role can consumers realistically play in checking where their products come from?

A notice at a FairPrice Xtra outlet in 2015 informing customers that paper products sourced from Asia Pulp & Paper had been withdrawn from shelves. (Image: CNA)

CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

In the palm oil industry, efforts to make production more sustainable have been underway for more than two decades.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), established in 2004, brings together growers, manufacturers, retailers and other industry players to promote sustainable production.

According to RSPO's 2026 Impact Report, 16.2 million tonnes of certified sustainable palm oil were produced in 2024, accounting for about one-fifth of global palm oil supply.

However, only about 11 million tonnes, or roughly two-thirds, were sold through RSPO channels. The remainder entered the market under other certification schemes or was sold as conventional palm oil.

Certified sustainable palm oil has yet to become the industry standard, partly because of the cost. Plantations seeking certification must meet environmental and labour requirements and undergo audits.

An aerial picture taken on Feb 12, 2026 shows a palm oil plantation adjacent to the forest in Danau Rawah, Kapuas Regency in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan Province. (Photo: AFP/Bay Ismoyo)

Tracing palm oil through the supply chain is another challenge.

Before reaching consumers, palm oil can pass through plantations, mills, refineries, processors and manufacturers. It is also processed into different fractions and derivatives used in a wide range of products.

At each stage, companies must track the oil's origins and whether its certified status has been maintained. The further it moves through the supply chain, the more difficult this can become.

But advances in technology have made tracing products easier, said Associate Professor Jolene Lin, director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law at the National University of Singapore.

"With global supply chains, accountability is difficult, especially when you ask the question of where in the production chain does accountability come in," she told CNA.

She highlighted digital tracing used by Malaysia's palm oil certification scheme, which helps companies identify where their palm oil originates.

Such technology allows "quite a lot of precision in being able to point out where a particular product was harvested from", she noted.

However, the level of traceability offered by certification schemes can differ.

For instance, some palm oil supply-chain models keep certified oil separate from conventional oil, while others allow the two to be mixed under controlled systems.

WHAT DO SUSTAINABILITY LABELS ACTUALLY GUARANTEE?

For consumers, the complexity of these supply chains is often difficult to see.

Palm oil may appear on ingredient lists under names such as vegetable oil, palm kernel oil or other technical terms. Ingredient labels may also provide little information about where the oil was produced or whether it came from a certified supply chain.

Associate Professor Kelvin Law from Nanyang Technological University's Nanyang Business School said certification generally indicates that an independent party has checked whether a product or company meets a particular set of requirements.

However, it does not necessarily establish which plantation supplied the raw materials or whether those materials came from an area affected by fires. Certification also does not guarantee that no environmental harm has occurred, he added.

The same questions apply to pulp and paper, with the restrictions on APP's green certification showing how certifiers can impose additional scrutiny when concerns arise over suppliers.

Experts say consumers face challenges in verifying where raw materials in some everyday products come from. (Image: CNA)

CAN RETAILERS DO MORE TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE SOURCING?

Retailers have a role to play in ensuring products are sustainably sourced, experts say.

Associate Professor Terry van Gevelt, an urban sustainability expert at Singapore Management University, said supermarkets are in a stronger position to demand information from suppliers.

"Supermarkets have a disproportionate amount of power in terms of how they can push through the supply chain," he said.

"They also have the capacity to understand these labels at a greater degree than consumers."

He said supermarkets can press suppliers for information on where products come from and whether they are certified, making them an effective point of pressure along the supply chain.

Singapore has taken steps to encourage more responsible sourcing.

The Singapore Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil (SASPO), formed after public outcry over the 2015 haze, has worked with businesses to increase demand for certified palm oil and improve sourcing practices.

The government's latest action has also brought corporate accountability into sharper focus.

In addition to the preventive notices issued to 10 Indonesian companies, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has issued notices seeking information from 10 Singapore-registered palm oil and forestry firms . A new specialist panel will also help investigate corporate relationships and supply chains across borders.

IS AVOIDING PALM OIL THE ANSWER?

Avoiding palm oil altogether may not necessarily reduce environmental damage.

Oil palm produces considerably more oil per hectare than crops such as soybean or sunflower.

Replacing the same amount of palm oil with alternative vegetable oils could require substantially more land.

A wholesale shift away from palm oil could therefore increase pressure on land elsewhere, including through deforestation and biodiversity loss.

For shoppers, independent sustainability certification remains a useful starting point, although it does not provide a complete picture of how a product was made.

"We shouldn't expect consumers to audit a global supply chain when we are shopping for tissue paper. That's not possible," said Assoc Prof Law.

Still, he said consumers have a right to question companies about their sourcing practices, particularly given the health risks associated with haze.

“We are the ones suffering all the health consequences. So we should have every right to ask the questions, even though we may not get the answer,” he said.

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新加坡正在调查一些可能与雾霾有关的公司，专家表示，可持续性认证可以在一定程度上保证符合绿色标准，但并不能保证产品不会对环境造成危害。

超市里陈列着各种品牌的卫生纸和其他纸制品。（图片：中央社）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：我们购物篮里的商品是否与造成新加坡雾霾的火灾有关？

随着人们对印尼棕榈​​油和纸浆造纸行业的重新审视，这个问题变得尤为突出，因为这些行业为食用油、肥皂和纸巾等日常用品提供原材料。

新加坡已向印尼的 10 家公司发出预防性通知，原因是这些公司可能因跨境烟霾而引发火灾。

其中包括亚洲浆纸业（APP）的三家木纤维供应商，而亚洲浆纸业是 Paseo 和 Nice 等卫生纸品牌的生产商。

CNA游戏猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定的字母组成单词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小方格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找出单词。显示更多 显示更少 APP公司升级后的新加坡绿色标签认证——涵盖包括可持续纤维来源、零土地燃烧和泥炭地管理在内的环境要求——也已被暂时限制。根据这些限制，APP公司必须每日提交供应商管理的特许经营区域内的火灾热点和消防措施报告。该公司此前曾在2015年严重雾霾期间受到审查。当时，新加坡主要零售商因涉嫌与火灾有关而将与其相关的产品下架。十多年过去了，可持续采购究竟改善了多少？消费者在核实产品来源方面又能发挥怎样的实际作用？

APP 的增强型新加坡绿色标签认证（涵盖环境要求，包括可持续来源的纤维、零土地燃烧和泥炭地管理）也受到暂时限制。

在这些限制条件下，APP 必须每日提交供应商管理的特许经营区域内的火灾热点和消防措施报告。

该公司此前曾在 2015 年的严重雾霾期间受到审查。当时，新加坡主要零售商因涉嫌与火灾有关而将与其相关的产品下架。

十多年过去了，可持续采购究竟改善了多少？消费者在了解产品来源方面究竟能发挥多大的作用？

2015年，一家FairPrice Xtra超市张贴告示，告知顾客所有来自亚洲浆纸业的纸制品已下架。（图片：CNA）

可持续棕榈油面临的挑战

在棕榈油行业，使生产更具可持续性的努力已经进行了二十多年。

可持续棕榈油圆桌会议（RSPO）成立于2004年，汇集了种植者、制造商、零售商和其他行业参与者，以促进可持续生产。

根据 RSPO 的 2026 年影响报告，2024 年将生产 1620 万吨经认证的可持续棕榈油，约占全球棕榈油供应量的五分之一。

然而，只有约1100万吨（约占三分之二）通过RSPO渠道销售。其余部分则通过其他认证体系进入市场，或作为传统棕榈油出售。

经认证的可持续棕榈油尚未成为行业标准，部分原因是成本较高。寻求认证的种植园必须满足环境和劳工方面的要求，并接受审核。

2026年2月12日拍摄的航拍照片显示，印度尼西亚中加里曼丹省卡普阿斯县达瑙拉瓦镇的森林旁有一片棕榈油种植园。（图片：法新社/Bay Ismoyo）

追踪棕榈油的供应链是另一项挑战。

棕榈油在到达消费者手中之前，会经过种植园、榨油厂、精炼厂、加工厂和制造商。它还会被加工成不同的馏分和衍生物，用于各种各样的产品中。

在每个环节，公司都必须追踪石油的来源及其认证状态是否得到维持。石油在供应链中流转的距离越远，追踪难度就越大。

但新加坡国立大学亚太环境法中心主任、副教授林若琳表示，技术的进步使得产品溯源变得更加容易。

她告诉亚洲新闻台：“在全球供应链中，问责制很难落实，尤其是在你问问责制应该在生产链的哪个环节发挥作用时。”

她重点介绍了马来西亚棕榈油认证计划中使用的数字追溯技术，该技术可以帮助企业确定其棕榈油的来源。

她指出，这种技术可以“非常精确地指出特定产品的产地”。

然而，不同认证体系提供的可追溯性水平可能有所不同。

例如，一些棕榈油供应链模式将认证棕榈油与传统棕榈油分开，而另一些模式则允许在受控系统中将两者混合。

可持续性标签究竟能保证什么？

对于消费者而言，这些供应链的复杂性往往难以察觉。

棕榈油可能以植物油、棕榈仁油或其他专业术语等名称出现在配料表中。配料标签可能也鲜少提供关于棕榈油产地或是否来自认证供应链的信息。

南洋理工大学南洋商学院副教授 Kelvin Law 表示，认证通常表明独立第三方已检查产品或公司是否符合特定要求。

然而，这并不一定能确定原材料来自哪个种植园，也无法确定这些原材料是否来自受火灾影响的地区。他还补充说，认证也不能保证没有造成环境损害。

同样的问题也适用于纸浆和造纸行业，APP 绿色认证的限制表明，当对供应商出现担忧时，认证机构可以如何施加额外的审查。

专家表示，消费者在核实某些日常用品的原材料来源方面面临挑战。（图片来源：中央社）

零售商能否采取更多措施来确保可持续采购？

专家表示，零售商在确保产品来源可持续方面发挥着重要作用。

新加坡管理大学城市可持续发展专家、副教授特里·范·格维尔特表示，超市更有能力向供应商索取信息。

他说：“超市在供应链中拥有不成比例的影响力。”

“他们也比消费者更有能力理解这些标签。”

他表示，超市可以向供应商施压，要求其提供产品来源信息以及是否获得认证，这使超市成为供应链中有效的施压点。

新加坡已采取措施鼓励更负责任的采购。

新加坡可持续棕榈油联盟（SASPO）是在2015年雾霾事件引发公众强烈抗议后成立的，该联盟与企业合作，以提高对认证棕榈油的需求并改进采购方式。

政府的最新举措也使企业问责制成为关注焦点。

除了向10家印尼公司发出预防性通知外，新加坡国家环境局（NEA）还向10家在新加坡注册的棕榈油和林业公司发出通知，要求其提供信息。一个新的专家小组也将协助调查跨境企业关系和供应链。

避免使用棕榈油是解决之道吗？

完全避免使用棕榈油未必能减少对环境的破坏。

油棕每公顷的产油量远高于大豆或向日葵等作物。

用其他植物油替代等量的棕榈油可能需要更多的土地。

因此，全面放弃棕榈油可能会增加其他土地的压力，包括导致森林砍伐和生物多样性丧失。

对于消费者而言，独立的可持续性认证仍然是一个有用的起点，尽管它并不能全面反映产品的生产方式。

“我们不应该指望消费者在购买卫生纸时审核全球供应链。这是不可能的，”副教授劳说道。

不过，他表示，消费者有权质疑企业的采购方式，尤其考虑到雾霾带来的健康风险。

“我们才是承受所有健康后果的人。所以我们完全有权利提出问题，即使我们可能得不到答案，”他说。

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