Following protests across Europe last month, Unilever says it will start buying palm oil from certified sustainable sources and aims to have all its palm oil certified by 2015. Greenpeace says the peatland forests of Indonesia--one of the last remaining habitats of the orangutan--are being damaged to provide palm oil, an ingredient in foods and soaps. "Other companies like Nestle and Procter & Gamble now need to join forces with Unilever to exert real pressure on the ground," says Greenpeace forest campaigner Tim Birch. Unilever says it started working on sustainable palm oil 10 years ago by developing …

Federal regulators will unveil regulations today that will crack down on the credit card industry, prohibiting practices such as arbitrarily raising interest rates on outstanding balances. It will also regulate overdraft protection, banning companies from assessing a fee unless the customer chooses not to opt out of that service. The proposed regulations by the Federal Reserve could be finalized by year's end. "It's stronger than what has been issued in the past," says William Ruberry, a spokesman for the Office of Thrift Supervision, which is joining the Fed and the National Credit Union Administration in backing the proposals. …

Target, looking to imbue a new eco-friendly apparel line with cachet, is putting it on sale first at Barneys New York. The retailer commissioned 60 exclusive pieces from designer Rogan Gregory, who uses 100% certified organic cotton and other natural fibers in collections that are typically sold at Barneys and Bloomingdale's. Gregory's Target collection will debut at Barneys New York from May 9-11, then from May 16-18 it will move to Barneys in Los Angeles, after which the clothes will appear at Target stores. "For us, it is about generating buzz about the collection, and it's a great opportunity …

Boston Red Sox phenom Jacoby Ellsbury has just cut a radio ad for Concord, Mass.-based Owater and the company is mulling other marketing events to help "maximize Jacoby's stuff," says Kim Stewart, Owater's vp of marketing. In return, Ellsbury, 24, is getting a small ownership stake in the company. Companies are increasingly offering ownership stakes to their marketing partners. It often establishes deep ties, says Rohan Oza, svp of marketing at Coca-Cola's Glaceau beverages unit, and drives home the notion to consumers that famous folk "believe in the product." Glaceau, which makes Vitaminwater and Smartwater, enlisted diverse celebrities including …

Kraft and Kellogg both saw profits drop for the quarter, but both beat analyst projections. And both say their advertising and marketing investments are paying off. "We remain committed to both advertising and promotions to help drive sustainable and dependable growth," says Kellogg CEO David Mackay. "We're spending more in absolute terms." Mackay has said that Kellogg tends to do well in a recessionary environment, and the company hasn't seen consumers trading down to private-label brands. "Going forward, we'll continue to invest behind key brands and as the year progresses we expect to add two other large U.S. …

Procter & Gamble increased marketing spend by 9% and watched its earnings jump 7.9% last quarter, largely on the strength of strong sales overseas and several successful launches. Grooming net sales jumped 13% to $2 billion. Blades & Razors volume was up in the "high single" digits on the successful expansion of Fusion and the launch of the five-blade Venus Embrace, the company's female-skewed razor, in North America. Beauty sales were up 9% though sales for Pantene declined, but volume was up for the hair color category in the "mid-single digits" because of the Nice 'N Easy Perfect 10 launch …

A Chicago nightclub was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in damages after people working undercover for Red Bull ordered drinks that mixed Red Bull with vodka but were served another energy drink. The judgment against the nightclub, Wet, marked the fourth time Red Bull has successfully sued bars over its trademark in the past 12 months. "Red Bull is going after high-profile bars and trying to make examples out of them," says Brian Morgan, a senior research analyst at Euromonitor International. "Their approach is to vigorously defend their brand." One bartender told an undercover Red Bull investigator …