As part of Vapoureyes' commitment to social and environmental responsibility, we've adopted 50 rescued orangutans with the assistance of The Orangutan Project, an Australian charity which fights against deforestation in Sumatra and Borneo, and which has helped to rescue thousands of orangutans who have been illegally held in captivity or directly affected by the loss of their natural habitats.

The reason orangutans and their habitats are under threat is because of the enormous palm oil industry, which regularly bulldozes massive tracts of old and new growth forests in countries around the world to fuel the production of palm oil, which is used in over 50% of food products on supermarket shelves, and which is unfortunately used to produce the vegetable glycerin in eliquids.

So, in addition to supporting the good work of The Orangutan Project, Vapoureyes has also taken an industry-first decision to eradicate palm-derived VG from our supply chain. Going forward, we exclusively use soy- and rapeseed-derived VG in all of our eliquids, and the raw VG we sell is also palm-free. 

Palm-free VG can have a very light natural green tint, especially in colder weather, but it's still the exact same pharmaceutical grade as the palm-derived VG we previously used, with the same high level of purity. It tastes the same, it vapes the same, and it costs the same, but nobody had to die to produce it.

In celebration of this decision, we'd like to introduce you to five of the orangutans we've adopted, each of whom have been rescued from desperate conditions and given a new chance at life by the wonderful people at The Orangutan Project and the various care and rehabilitation centres they support.  

Cece Sex: Female Approximate date of birth: April 26, 2011 Care centre: SOCP Quarantine Centre Physical condition: Healthy

Cece was confiscated from the Hill Park theme park in Medan, North Sumatra in February 2015. Reports were received from the public about the existence of orangutans at Hill Park. After an investigation, the manager of the park agreed to hand Cece into government authorities. She was being housed in a small cage. Cece was taken immediately to the Quarantine Centre run by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) in Medan to receive treatment and proper care.

Happi Sex: Male Approximate date of birth: Aug. 1, 2015 Rehabilitation centre: COP Borneo, East Kalimantan Physical condition: Healthy and growing well

Happi was originally confiscated by the BKSDA (Nature Conservation Agency of Indonesia), in Bontang city in East Kalimantan. The APE Guardian rescue team from the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) drove 12 hours to reach him at the BKSDA office in Tenggarong, East Kalimantan. Happi came from Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan. He was estimated to be approximately 10-12 months old when he was rescued.

	Rahayu Sex: Female Approximate date of birth: June 1, 2010 Rehabilitation centre: Orangutan Emergency Centre, Ketapang, West Kalimantan Physical condition: Healthy
When Rahayu the baby orangutan arrived in April 2011, she was in a very serious condition. She had the worst type of malaria and this had affected her neurological system. During the first week the vets were very worried about her. She didn't show any visual reflex and she was also having convulsions. Thanks to round-the-clock care and appropriate treatment she has finally recovered.

Gokong Sex: Male Approximate date of birth: Feb. 1, 2012 Care centre: SOCP Quarantine Centre Physical condition: Healthy

Confiscated from the home of an Indonesian palm oil plantation worker, Gokong was weak, suffering from malnutrition and severely underweight. He had been snatched from his mother, witnessed her brutal torture, and was sold into captivity for just $10.40 AUD by the fisherman who stole him from his wild home. Now safely in the care of the SOCP Quarantine Centre, his once-thin body is starting to fill out and he is learning to climb!

Bunga Sex: Female Approximate date of birth: June 1, 2007 Rehabilitation centre: Orangutan Emergency Centre, Ketapang, West Kalimantan Physical condition: Healthy

Bunga arrived at the centre in West Kalimantan in November 2009. She was about 2½ years old. Her story is similar to that of many other rescued orangutans: a family phoned the centre and asked the rescue team to go and pick her up from their house. They claimed to have found Bunga three months earlier and had decided to keep her. They kept her in a cage in the garden of the house. When she was first rescued, she was rather cautious and rarely left her caregiver’s side. However she gradually became increasingly independent and made a friend for life in Cindy, a female of Bunga’s age who was rescued in February 2010. The two girls are both competent climbers and spend most of their time not far apart from each other.

Hey! You can help to support The Orangutan Project's important work by adopting an orangutan of your very own! Check out their site here.