Endangered Scents

 Fragrance or perfume making business is largely dependent on nature and environment. Natural Perfumes are mostly a product derived by extracting oils from natural raw materials that are then combined to produce a pleasant smell by spreading its molecules in the air. These raw materials could be flowers, spices, fruits, herbs, or tree barks. Since they are derived from botanical sources, their fragrance is totally natural & pure. It smells light and refreshing for our neural senses.

Regions like Grasse in France faced severe drought situations recently forcing the farmers there to cut down heavily on usage of water and use alternative methods like drip irrigation for growing flowers. Grasse is not an isolated case, rather many such prominent regions producing good quality raw material for the perfume industry are experiencing shifting seasons, frequent extremes of frost, uneven rain, hail, and rising temperatures. All this is affecting crop yields, quality, and even the quantity of a scent that various plants produce. With such continuing calamities impacting the industry that functions on delicate balances dependent on nature, everything about how fragrances are made may need to be revised.

Luxury brands like Chanel, Versace, Montblanc or Dolce & Gabbana are known for their consistent quality. Being able to be consistent is a challenge and achieving it is not an easy. It is done through a dedicated mechanism employed by such large corporations. Everything including quality of soil, organic methods, climatic conditions, ph and brix levels, fragrance, yield, storage etc. is checked until harvest. No doubt companies rely heavily on environmental factors for quality produce year after year. Unfortunately, such regions are less around the world and therefore perfume makers can ill afford to have any calamity striking these regions no matter how big or small it may be. Although, option of synthetic scents produced through artificial methods would continue to keep their presence in the market, it should not be allowed to grow at the expense of natural fragrances produced carefully through a delicate process. On a ending note let us make a resolution to restore our planet to its original self by committing to fight global warming and adopt necessary changes in our lifestyle.