Perfumery: natural ingredients producers team up with WPC

Premium Beauty News – What unites these companies, offering a very diverse palette of perfume ingredients?

Virginie Gervason – For the first time, seven of the world’s largest natural ingredients producers from the four corners of the planet will join forces to share their values ​​and commitments.

Operating in a variety of contexts, they are responsible entrepreneurs, small or medium-sized, committed over the long term to their clients around the world and to all participants in their value chain, taking risks every day and investing in improving their daily practices and management. requirement of third party certificates.

They know the communities they work directly with, act to preserve nature and biodiversity in their regions, invest in cutting-edge industrial facilities and produce the highest quality natural ingredients that form the creative palette of the world’s most sustainable perfumers.

They share the same passion, the same desire to engage stakeholders in conserving these resources, have the same goals for the future, and are developing many solutions to share.

This unique “impulse”, conceived and organized by Resperfuma in close collaboration with each of the producers, and with the support and expertise of Dominic Roques, will bring together: Agroforex, a producer of benzoin and aquilaria from Laos; Enio Bonchev (damask rose from Bulgaria); Jacarandas (ylang-ylang and pink berries from Madagascar); Jasmine CE.Pvt.Ltd (vetiver and Indian flowers); Nelixia (guaiac tree from Paraguay, cardamom from Guatemala, etc.); SCA3P (lavender and aromatic plants from France); Verger Naturals (cinnamon, black pepper and Sri Lankan spices).

Premium Beauty News – Natural resources used in perfumery are very diverse: some come from crops, others from wild plants, but all are sensitive to climate change and environmental shocks. Are the consequences already visible? Do small producers have the means to adapt?

Dominic Roques – Climatic and environmental shocks are obviously affecting aromatic perfume products.

Climate change is particularly noticeable in water resources, which are greatly affected by changing rainfall patterns. This requires a significant, time-consuming and expensive investment effort, the profitability of which is questioned by manufacturers. For example, lavandin growers in France, rose growers in Bulgaria and small-scale jasmine growers in India must also completely rethink water management on their farms to adapt to new rainfall patterns.

Regarding the environment, one of the major recurring problems is deforestation. It threatens several important perfume trees, such as Styrax or Balsam of Peru in Central America and especially Gaillac in Paraguay.

But in the Chaco forest, for example, which has been heavily deforested, leading to ever-expanding areas for livestock, initiatives are beginning to emerge demonstrating that the value of a perfume ingredient like Gaillac can be a weapon to slow this spiral by developing sustainable management plans and suggestions. an economically attractive alternative for owners.

Small producers are key players in these initiatives and the future of many of these products lies in their hands as long as they are supported by the industry.”

Premium Beauty News – A roundtable on sustainability in the natural ingredients supply chain is also part of the WPC program. Can you show us the outlines?

Dominic Roques – Three panelists, Elisa Aragon (Nelixia), Philip Lisicharov (Enio Bonchev) and Raja Palaniswami (Jasmine CE PVT), will discuss with me the question: “Natural Products: What Does It Take to Be Sustainably Sourced?”

Indeed, the perfume industry has seen significant progress in the search for natural ingredients over the past ten years. The growing awareness and expectations of a significant portion of the perfume consumer has pushed our industry (perfume and fragrance manufacturers, as well as brands) to question the old practices of manufacturers and encourage improvements at the outset. This has led to significant requirements and a move towards third party certification. In a few years, our panel will discuss the state of the major manufacturers in America, Europe and Asia. What is their perspective and experience regarding these new trends? Are certifications well adapted to the social and environmental realities of their countries, and is the market willing to bear the additional costs that arise as a result of such requirements?