Allergens

I have just finished the paperwork for 3 new fragrances I created for a customer who is launching a range of perfumes for young, sporty teenagers. It takes me nearly as long to do the paperwork for a perfume compound these days as it does to make the fragrance in the first place. One of the services I offer is to create the copy for the labels – a daunting task for anyone new to the industry.

As I typed out the lists I felt a little sadness. This customer had come to me several months ago with an exciting new concept. Her enthusiasm was genuine and she had thought long and hard about the image of the fragrances and their place in the market. She had also taken the trouble to look at the competition – sound homework.

Part of her brief to me was that she did not want a long list of “potential allergens” on the ingredients list, and therefore she wanted it to be as natural as possible – 100% natural would be ideal. All laudable aims - but of course mutually exclusive. Our friends in Brussels have - through some very dubious scientific research – listed potential allergens that cover virtually every natural material known to man. In fact I have only 3 natural materials on my shelf (out of over 1,000 ingredients) that do not contain any allergens. So my customer had a choice – she could either have a long list of allergens plastered all over her product, or have the perfume 100% synthetic and have no list. She struggled over that decision – and I sympathised.

This is a dilemma I predicted some time ago when I wrote an article on this very subject. It’s a great pity it has come true. David Burfield of Cropwatch is campaigning against this and the next raft of legislation which is on its way – the 40^th Amendment that will take up even more time with paperwork that in all likelihood no-one will ever read. What have we done? We have created a monster that now has a will of it’s own.

Comments

[Anya]

Hello John

I've enjoyed our correspondance, and as you may know, I've quoted you in some of my writings on the IFRA CoP regulations. I've been working closely with Tony of Cropwatch for several years on regulatory and/or endangered species issues, but really came on board with him in his call for a boycott of the 40th.

There's lots more to read about it here: http://www.artisannaturalperfumers.org/news.htm where interested parties can download the "Primer" as we call it. Also exposed some funny business on the part of IFRA via this press release: http://www.soap-wire.com/2007/03/online_website_.html

Efforts are paying off: there is a growing worldwide network of industry professionals talking to each other, and perhaps we can hope for a coalition in the future to more properly dialogue with IFRA and the EU on how to evaluate and regulate naturals, rather than the Draconian approach they're taking now.