Men in orang-utan suits scaled the HQ of a multinational firm in a coordinated European protest.
A dozen protesters from Greenpeace appeared outside Unilever's offices in London while 40 members stormed a factory in Wirral, Merseyside.
Elsewhere around 20 members protested at the Rotterdam offices of the Anglo-Dutch corporation and demonstrations also took place at smaller offices in Rome.
The eco-group said the protests were against the corporation's sourcing of palm oil, an ingredient used in foods, soaps and bio-fuel.
They say that the last remaining habitat of orang-utans, in the peatland forests of Indonesia, are being damaged to provide palm oil.
Greenpeace Executive Director John Sauven said: "Greenpeace is demanding Unilever publicly calls for an end to the expansion of palm oil into forest and peatland areas and stops trading with suppliers that continue to destroy rainforests."
The group say there are alternative sources for palm oil which it is encouraging Unilever to use.
A spokesman for the corporation said: "We are looking to determine what actions need to be taken, if any, and will look at the supply chain."
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