According to a recent BBC investigation, some of the world’s biggest perfume brands, Lancôme and Aerin Beauty, use ingredients, specifically jasmine, gotten via the labor of Egyptian minors. The fragrance brands are not directly involved but their policies contribute to this practice. Per the report, L’Oréal, Lancôme’s owner, and Estée Lauder, Aerin Beauty’s owner, have tightened their budgets, which has resulted in jasmine pickers earning less wages than before. To make up for the reduced income – one jasmine picker and her four children earned US$1.5 after picking 1.5kg of flower – many of them resort to using their children for labor so they earn more money. The report has raised several eyebrows, especially since all the luxury perfume brands claim they have zero tolerance on child labor. L’Oréal has since stated it is committed to respecting human rights, while its counterpart Estée Lauder said it had contacted its suppliers.
SOURCE: BBC