Veganism has been there for a while now, and vegans are exploring alternatives to every aspect of their lives. I like their attitude, believing in a philosophy and trying their best to consume only vegan food. But this also means letting go of some fashion or personal care products including perfumes.
Scents are often considered fruity or floral, or derived from fruits and flowers, so why are perfumes not vegan?
Perfumes are not vegan and cruelty-free because their manufacturing involves the exploitation of animals in different ways, including the usage of animal-derived elements and animal testing.
The IFRA(International Fragrance Association) released a statement in the month of February 2020 mentioning their support for a future where the safety of the people and the protection of the environment are prioritized. While they haven’t explicitly said that animal testing of perfumes is beyond us, they mentioned that they are always looking for alternatives to animal testing.
Animal testing for the perfume industry is only the last resort for them at this point as many countries require that the fragrances be tested in animals before they enter the market to ensure the safety of the people.
Animal Derivatives Used in Perfumery
Animal derivatives and animal notes in perfumery are two different things. While an accord can be animalic, they don’t need to use animal substances.
However, there are five animal substances that have been used in perfumery since earlier days, which are ambergris, musk, civet, castor and hyraceum. Let’s look at which animal it comes from.
- Ambergris: Ambergris is said to be found in the intestine of pot-whale. They don’t need to kill the whale for ambergris, because it is said to be found floating about in the sea.
Real ambergris is not used anymore, and the synthetic version of this is called ambroxan, which is made from a chemical called sclareol. This is derived from a Clary sage plant. Since this plant doesn’t create the chemical in abundance, the ingredient is still an expensive one.
- Musk: The most popular animal substance used in perfumery, musk is derived from Deer Musk, a small-sized deer. Musk is secreted in a sac which must be extracted from the deer. Extraction of this sac doesn’t necessarily kill the deer, however, trapping the deer is a process that often leads to the death of this animal.
Deers are not killed for their musk anymore as the industry has found a suitable synthetic alternative.
- Civet: Civet is a secretion that is similar to animal musk in terms of how it is derived and from where. Civet is a secretion found in the Civet Cat and Musk Rat. These animals are kept in captivity so that their secretion can be gathered from time to time. But there are other more humane ways of collecting civets.
Only civet, of all animal substances, is still used by the perfume industry although there is ‘Civet Absolute’ which is the synthetic alternative. This alternative, however, is no match for the complexity and effects of natural civet.
Fun tidbits: Indian civet might not be a common sight in my part of the country(Assam), but sometimes one of these animals shows up randomly around the neighbourhood, and the whole environment starts smelling of what we call joha, as the animal is known as johamal. Interestingly, there is also an Assamese rice species which is a little expensive which smells the same and is named similar, joha rice.
Personally, I do not like the smell of either, it’s too overwhelming. Since I am already talking about it, there is yet again a gourd, called Joha Kumura, that smells the same again.
- Castor: Castor is a secretion from beaver found in the pear-shaped bags of the abdomen of the animal beaver. These bags are small, often the length of a finger. Castor by itself is not an appealing odour and has a balsamic taste.
Castor however is rarely used in perfumes, and when used, it is created synthetically.
- Hyraceum: This substance is a petrified rock of excrement that has properties that mirror castor very closely and hence can be used as a replacement for castor. This substance is found in the excrement of Rock badger(Hyrax Capensis). This element adds a touch of ‘dirty’ to the fragrances that are cloying or shampoo fresh.
Why Are Animal Substances Used In Perfumery?
Animal substances are used in perfumery for their fixative qualities. Fixation is the property of a fragrance which prolongs the life of scent in the wearer, and without fixation, there is no base note.
There are 3 types of fixatives in perfumery that lengthen the rate of evaporation of the scent. The first kind of fixative includes resins or gums, which include an adsorptive effect, which slows down the evaporation of the scent on screen because they adsorb other essences, thus contributing to the longevity of the perfume.
The second kind of fixative comes from oakmoss, vetiver, labdanum, which again evaporates at a slow rate, but they don’t adsorb or affect other essences of the perfumes.
But we are here to talk about the third kind.
This third kind of fixative is known as an exalting fixative, which comes from animal substances mentioned above. These kinds of fixatives are so strong that they can add life to other essences of perfume with just a drop to several ounces. But apart from making perfumes last longer, these kinds of fixatives improve and fortify. These fixatives are also considered no less than ‘magical’ in the world of perfumery.
So, you see, why animal extracts are so sought after and expensive.
Why Animal Testing is Important?
Animal testing is important for the fragrance industry or the company to ensure the safety of the product for legal, ethical or commercial reasons. If a fragrance house has international customers, these fragrance houses must comply with the laws of every country in which it operates. This includes complying the a law where animal testing is mandatory to ensure the safety of the product.
But why do these laws require animal testing?
Testing on animals is mostly important for skin sensitisation. Human volunteers were(or are) also used for the testing process. However, the fragrance industry is almost ready to move towards more ethical methods of testing fragrances than involving animals.
Instead, the industry is adopting methods like Ames test to determine mutagenicity,
There is also another method called in vitro, where they use artificial systems in a laboratory vessel, helping in determining skin sensitisation. This is not just ethical but also less expensive than testing on laboratory animals.
While these two kinds of tests, along with many others, haven’t been adopted by the whole industry, they are trying to persuade the regulatory bodies to approve them.
What Is The Difference Between Vegan And Cruelty-Free?
Veganism and vegan products refer to no involvement of animals or animal extracts. A vegan will not eat meat, fish, eggs(animal products), milk(animal products), honey, etc. Veganism is not just a dietary choice, it is also a lifestyle where vegans don’t wear any fashion or beauty product that includes animal or animal parts. For example, real leather belts, jackets, etc. This also includes avoiding perfumes that use real animal substances mentioned above.
So, a vegan would not buy a perfume that has natural animal parts or extracts, and their choices may be perfumes which don’t have animal notes at all or animal fixatives.
Cruelty-free is when manufacturing of the products on the market doesn’t involve cruelty or exploitation of animals. This means if products are tested on animals before making them available for the market, then it is not cruelty-free.
So a person who supports cruelty-free will not just avoid a product that has been tested on animals but also avoid this company or brand altogether because of what they stand for.
Can Perfumes Be Vegan & Cruelty-Free?
Perfumes can be vegan, perfumes can be cruelty-free and perfumes can be both vegan and cruelty-free.
Many perfumes today use synthetic materials or zero animal extracts, which might be suitable for vegans. At the same time, newer perfume brands, especially indie perfume houses, prioritize new-age requirements and commitments and are launching brands that are both vegan and cruelty-free.
What Perfumes Are Suitable for Vegans?
Here are 5 perfume brands that you can explore if you want vegan & cruelty-free perfumes.
Sarah Ireland, a perfume brand, finds its essence in the perfect blend of science, storytelling, and boundless creativity. The founder’s fascination with the scientific aspect of perfumery, coupled with a love for storytelling, led to the thrilling pursuit of creating entirely new scents.
Sarah Ireland’s ethical values mention that all perfumes are vegan and cruelty-free, reflecting a thoughtful approach to sourcing ingredients that prioritizes ethics and sustainability in every step of the production process.
All Good Scents is based in India, and its perfumes are produced in Grasse, France, bottles its fragrances locally and exclusively sells them online. The brand’s future goal is to increase fragrance production in India.
Committed to cruelty-free practices, All Good Scents’ perfumes do not undergo animal testing and are devoid of any animal-derived ingredients.
Keiko Mecheri, as a perfume brand, deeply embeds responsibility and sustainability within its ethos. They prioritize the planet’s well-being by using recyclable glass bottles and environmentally conscious packaging. The brand meticulously sources raw materials with a keen eye on minimising environmental impact.
With a staunch commitment to ethical practices, Keiko Mecheri ensures none of its products or ingredients undergo animal testing or contain elements derived from animals. Their dedication goes beyond collaborating exclusively with corporate partners who uphold similar ethical and environmental standards. Keiko Mecheri champions the fusion of sustainability and exquisite fragrances, driven to continuously innovate with new, sustainable concepts for a better tomorrow.
LUSH, a prominent perfume brand, opposes animal testing, a stance they held even before their inception, and continues till today. They denounce animal testing as unreliable for human results and opt for rigorous safety and effectiveness testing on human volunteers and in vitro methods using human cell cultures and microbiology.
Committed to cruelty-free practices, LUSH refrains from testing on animals and avoids materials with animal derivatives unsuitable for vegetarians. They exclusively procure raw materials from companies abstaining from animal testing, which I believe is taking a step beyond usual caution, and emphasizes that customer safety can be assured without animal involvement.
The brand also diligently avoids suppliers engaged in animal testing after their fixed cut-off date in June 2007, unless committed to using in-vitro alternatives.
How Do I Know If A Perfume is Vegan & Cruelty-Free?
Companies lie for various reasons, mostly commercial in nature. So, before trusting a company, you ask, how do you actually know that a perfume or perfume brand is vegan and cruelty-free?
Truth is, you don’t. You can do your research but you can only go so far and do so much. But if it helps in your philosophy, you are only buying products that you know to the best of your knowledge are vegan and cruelty-free.
Apart from that, here’s how to learn if a brand is vegan and cruelty-free.
- Research
Find the website of this brand, and look for their About sections. Sometimes they will provide these kinds of commitments in this section, while sometimes they will have a separate section for ethics, commitments and philosophy.
Remember to check for both vegan-friendly and cruelty-free commitments as mentioning one of them doesn’t automatically confirm commitment to the other.
For example, sometimes obtaining civet and hyraceum does not necessarily have to involve cruelty to animals. They can be gathered after the animal leaves them in nature without keeping the animal captive, but if a brand uses such animal substances and doesn’t do any animal testing, then this will be only cruelty-free, not vegan-friendly.
So, you have to get their commitment on both differently.
- Contact them and ask
If you have found a perfume or perfume brand that you learnt about being vegan and cruelty-free, but you don’t see the commitment on their website for confirmation, you can opt for contacting them personally and asking them.
Frame a polite message inquiring about their commitment and usage of animal ingredients and their testing process. Considering a lot of renowned brands haven’t gone vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, other brands shouldn’t feel obligated to lie about being what they are not.
So you’ll have your answer, whether or not they are vegan and cruelty-free.
Note that sometimes brands give you an answer are but not exactly transparent and straightforward. If they are saying they believe in testing on humans rather than testing on animals, they probably don’t exclusively mean they never test on animals.
- You might want to know
Do you want to go a little extra mile to find out if they are actually ethical, vegan-friendly and cruelty-free? Ask them about the source of their perfume ingredients. Where do they source their products from, and research about these sources as well.
Takeaway
I believe, going forward, there are going to be more and more vegan-friendly and cruelty-free brands that will be available.
Many perfume and cosmetics brands are trying to go vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, and are successfully keeping their promises.
But in any case, you can always create, design and make perfumes yourself.
