Two fragrance brands have been linked to child labor, a BBC investigation has revealed. Lancôme's Idôle L'Intense and Aerin's Ikat Jasmine and Limone Di Sicilia contain jasmine that comes from Egypt. According to the BBC investigation, L'Oréal, Lancôme's owner, and Estée Lauder, Aerin Beauty's owner, used jasmine that was "picked by minors" in Egypt.
The outlet spoke to people who explained the reason for children's involvement in the jasmine industry: low prices for jasmine. To make more money, people might need to get their children involved, and industry insiders say the tight budgets set by the companies selling these fragrances could be to blame.
Although perfume prices have increased for consumers, the amount of money that pickers make does not reflect that, according to the BBC. Industry insiders, including Christophe Laudamiel, told the BBC that the companies want "the cheapest oil possible to put in the fragrance bottle."
Perfume’s Dark Secret director Natasha Cox told Vogue that "the budgets to make perfume are really tight, so we understand that when the fragrance houses are sourcing raw materials, they aim to keep costs of goods as low as possible."
Though there are various people involved in the process, the perfume companies at the top are the ones that set the tight budgets, which end up impacting the pickers, according to industry insiders.
The BBC said that "pickers often earn as little as a dollar a day while huge profits are made by the giant conglomerates of the perfume industry."
One jasmine picker named Heba has her children help her pick jasmine in order to make more money, according to the outlet. Her four children, who help pick jasmine, are 5 to 15 years old.
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She and her children earned $1.5 for picking 1.5 kg of jasmine flowers.
Both L'Oréal and Estée Lauder claim to have zero tolerance policies when it comes to child labor. “We believe that the rights of all children should be protected and have contacted our suppliers in the region to investigate as a matter of urgency," Estée Lauder said in a statement shared with Allure.
L’Oréal responded to the BBC documentary on its website. "L’Oréal is deeply committed to respecting and protecting Human Rights and we believe that all forms of child labour are completely unacceptable. We expect all our suppliers, including fragrance houses, to act in a responsible and ethical way," the statement said. "We always act immediately if we identify any problems in our supply chain."
