The Environmental Impact of Perfume and Essential Oils //

[@rochelle2758]

Worth knowing: I read years ago that at least in the States, “unscented” products can still have fragrance added to mask other chemical smells. Only “fragrance-free” products don’t. Thanks Gittemary!

[@amerjoud6527]

this explains why those hyper sensitive to scents are still affected. Thanks!

[@Christina-sf4py]

Gittemary, please do subjects of noise pollution and maybe light pollution at night. So much noise for the sake of noise in our environments (eg unnecessary background music during interviews/public speaking eg youtube!) And from each individual shop, restaurants etc. Also see lots of unnecessary pretty lights on people's houses, apparently this affects wildlife too.

[@heatherburch7697]

Anyone else live in a land field of scents? So many perfumes give me a persistent headache. Plug-ins or air fresheners are the worst!

[@annakp9739]

Omg yes! I can totally relate 😢

[@baidykle1]

I'm very sensitive to scents, so I can really really relate too

[@tanjalentzy1337]

Oh yes. Sickening smell .

[@jillbeans1573]

Thanks for exposing that just because it says ALL NATURAL, does not mean that it is ECHO FRIENDLY. ❤

[@yellowzora]

This was super informative. I mostly try to only buy products that are fragrance free as growing up, my mum had asthma and we never used any fragranced products at all. Now, I often get scented candles as gifts but I only buy unscented. I can't stand most perfumes as they give me an instant migraine. Bought some toilet paper a week ago, and it took me 3 days to realise that my migraine was due to the scents in there. Luckily it was unopened so I could return it, but still. Who needs scented toilet paper, just open a bloody window. For me, just buying less overall is the answer, and trying to be extra mindful when there is something I need. Thanks for the video!

[@chiara2505]

in desperate need of a podcast hosted by her

[@aleigh2168]

As a bird owner, I did tons of research years ago on scents, chemicals, and the like. It was astounding to me the extent of all the products I had been using prior to owning birds that had toxic chemicals in them. Our household has since gotten rid of all scented items or any other toxic chemical compounds. In essence, my bird saved my life. It is still difficult to find some things in a unscented version. Hopefully those will become more widespread as time progresses. (If you don't know, many of the scented things people use in homes are harmful to birds as they have sensitive respiratory systems. Air fresheners, candles, room sprays, etc. Also, teflon is a huge issue with birds as it can kill them almost instantly if they breathe it in.)

[@anita4609]

There is a company in Norway (called Borregaard) that's trying to address the issue of vanillin being mostly made from petrol extracts by making it out of recycled paper pulp, which sounds pretty cool

[@shinnam]

Not from beaver anal glands? We get fake vanilla from those poor beavers in Sweden

[@zanna186]

Pretty much everything in my house has to be fragrance free because of my sensitivities. And you are right, that natural essential oils are not necessarily the answer, because they are still volatile oils, and can be just as irritating as synthetics. I know for certain that I can't handle lavender oil or tea tree oil. I think it's absolutely scary and maddening how many toxic chemicals can be hidden in consumer products, and are exempt from being included in ingredient lists, because of proprietary fragrance laws.

[@duncanbananatyne3890]

Buy bananas... and oranges, aromatic fruits, grow some lillies, other fragrant flowers and plants.

[@baileegordon2825]

This would be a tricky impact analysis, but I would love to see a deep dive into hydroponic gardening vs conventional and organic gardening.

[@amerjoud6527]

great idea

[@zialuna]

Valuable information, thank you Gittemary!

[@rileycollison2947]

I have quite of items that are scented, so I will try and use them up first, and then switch to unscented products in the future.

[@b1rdeee]

I think the biggest struggle for me when it comes to purchasing more sustainably is weighing the environmental and ethical costs of shipping/supply chain against the cost of production. It often comes down to whether I want to purchase something made locally by a smaller company with more impactful production methods or have something shipped a relatively long distance from a larger company that focuses on more sustainable practices/ingredients.

[@helenapflaum6800]

For what it’s worth, shipping is usually insignificant compared to the rest of the supply chain. This is most apparent with food. (See our world in data: local food and emissions) but with other things it generally reigns true. It is also worth mentioning that local does not equate with ethical, and critical thinking is always needed. However, the best thing to do will always be to buy less overall, as that’s objectively better for the planet. :)

[@gardeningtheearth]

Love these impact videos, you are doing a service by informing the public.

[@tiffanyharrison21]

Love these impact videos, so glad you covered this topic!

[@rozlynne4102]

I really appreciate this series! You have great timing because I was just starting to wonder about this topic and boom there's your video!

[@persephone213]

Same here

[@carlijn96]

Really excited to see you tackle this subject! 💮

[@viivi4196]

so glad you covered this topic! I learned a lot and this gave me a lot to think about too! thank you for the hard work you do for these analysis videos :)

[@sallyjohnson9516]

Hi. I live in Australia and wanted to try the Australian brands you recommended. I travelled 9 hrs to Melbourne and visited One Fine Secret to try the One Seed perfume. Beautiful store! I came away with their Tides scent, which I love. Thank you so much for all your research. Really really appreciated.

[@JUANORQUIO]

W❤W! That’s Incredibly Awesome! Have A Lovely Week! 🤗🌸❤️✨

[@mirzadakobilic6440]

I've been waiting for this impact video! Great stuff, thank you 🎉😊❤

[@KateinBlack]

I tend to buy fragrance free or unscented products usually and never use fabric softer. However I still use perfume, I try not to have many and not use them everyday, but I really enjoy some niche fragrances that just change my whole mood. Fragrances have such power over out memory and mood, that it is difficult to me quit a good perfume. Sometimes to scent my place I boil some orange peels, or any peel from fruit like apple or lemon and add some cinnamon, I find it smells better that most artificial home sprays and candles.

[@AnnikaWithAk]

Thank you for doing amazing research as always. I started to dislike perfumes a few years ago, they give me a headache (especially when going through fragrance departments in shopping centres, as sometimes you have no other way of getting to the actual dept you want). I tend to use a few drops of essential oils instead, if I want to add a touch of scent to me. I started to buy organic essential oils only and hope that do makes a difference considering their production. But I've never actually really looked into it. There is a company here in the UK called Eden Perfume, they re-create popular CK, Chanel, D&G, etc fragrances without animal testings and they're vegan as well.

[@trudie5284]

I like eden perfume, such a great find,

[@Raq.27]

Most modern day perfumes don’t use beaver sacks as they are super expensive. Most musks in commercial perfumes are synthetic!! This is a good thing :) we don’t need to kill animals for perfume anymore. There are small natural perfumes that still sometimes use vintage deer musk but it’s very rare. So if you are smelling vanilla in perfume it’s probably a synthetic vanilla called vanillin or ethyl vanillin.

[@Raq.27]

Also because vanilla absolute the natural extraction of vanilla beans used in perfumery is wildly expensive too. I see a lot of ppl throwing around that it’s normal to see animal musks in commercial perfume and it isn’t. I’m pretty sure (fact check me!) that there are laws on hunting musk deers for their glands. So this is definitely not something we use now adays

[@elliwildblooms]

Thanks for the insights! Great video! I learned a lot about the health impacts of synthetic fragrances from the documentary Stink! Recommend.

[@trudie5284]

Such a good documentary

[@Amyjwashere]

We can’t talk about this enough!

[@tainoaquarian]

Yes~ I want to Scream- whenever I see companies’ greenwashing stints. Where we naturally expect standards… but find NONE upon actually reading through the package, when alas, they essentially try to Jedi Mind Fk- by noting that PACKAGING is sustainable… or ‘reminding to recycle packaging 😤 Like yes oc That part should be a GIVEN..! But What About the Product??!

[@lisbethchristensen1981]

🌸🏆 Amazing video. I personally use very little perfume. The one I use and love is CLEAN perfume. Absolutely lovely fragrances. 🌸

[@lunikilo]

I was just researching agarwood recently and whew that's a trip. In short, it's really ironic what happens and is happening to the sources of wood that is often used for holy items and incense for the gods. A bit like the whole sage for smudging (by non-Natives) issue in the United States...

[@amerjoud6527]

Could you please share your conclusions here?

[@Offensive_Username]

* throws away his beloved vanilla-scented fragrance card used in the bathroom *

[@creationslandscapedesigns]

I am very sensitive to smells. I cannot even smell perfume on anyone without coughing or sometimes gagging.

[@Furby_will_protect]

I'm also quite sensitive to strong smells as well but how I'm affected is quite different...... I get to experience a decrease of cognitive function and my tolerance for being vertical goes to shit (unable to be vertical)..... basically I don't have a fun time.

[@creationslandscapedesigns]

@@Furby_will_protect Holy shit! That sucks.

[@micivalantincic8227]

I recently discovered that my intolerance to fragrance is due to histamin intolerance. Maybe look into that.

[@creationslandscapedesigns]

@@micivalantincic8227 oh

[@Furby_will_protect]

@@creationslandscapedesigns life with having a condition called chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis or CFS/ ME..... shit sucks but smells were my fairly easy to remove trigger for post exertional malaise (that would be the fun shit of decrease in cognitive function, my vertical tolerance turning to near nothing and also feeling like I caught an extremely hard hitting flu).

[@plaid9292]

Other brands to consider that are clean/cruelty-free (please advise if you know more about their ethical footprints!): Liis (USA-California, sheer fragrances) Le Labo (USA-NYC, bold and long-lasting) Eden Perfume (UK-London, refillable dupes) Thanks for this vid! Perfume gives me a lot of joy as a reprieve on my wrist while in a classroom with pubescent students! Sure, I could go without, much like I can go without wine, but for those days…! I try to balance this indulgence by maintaining a simple collection that I can use up completely before replacing.

[@hunterholmes8764]

Nice work. - if you haven't seen the documentary "Stink" It will support your claims. I bet you've seen it. It's more about v.o.c.s from all things " fabric softeners' to furniture and Chanell #5. - Last night i went to visit my old neighborhood. It was a beautiful summer night. 70 degrees on busy Newbury st. Boston outdoors. #1. I could no longer smell the ocean. #2. Before I even got out of the car all I could smell was a lethal mixture of dangerous scents. It was so sad. After 30 minutes I decided to walk through the alleys for relief. 20 years ago I lived on this st. And it was never like this. These products are more powerful than ever before and there's no end in sight. ' under the blanket word " fragrances" lies , cancer inducing carcinogens. And what adds to tbe problem , when someone's in a hurry to go out on the town, they always put on more and even double up without knowing it, "come on we are late honey." Then they sit down 12 inches away from me in a restaurant and my meal is ruined as I begin tasting there scent of the evening! Frankly it rude and selfish. Etc. Its got to stop! Thank you for your putting this video out. You had some great insights as to what goes on with men and womens perfumes, all the endangered species., and more. Well presented too. Thanks again for spreading the word. Nicely done! Hunter

[@Drage3000]

***Careful! Castor oil is "NOT" derived from beavers! Yes "castor" means beaver in French, but castor is also a bean. Castor oil is made from castor oil plant, not beavers.

[@mariemattsson824]

Castor oil from the beans and the castoreum that used to be used in perfume are two different things. Castoreum was common and it was extracted from the anal glands of the beaver. Nowadays, it is illegal in most countries and its regulated by the international perfume organisation IFRA. As with the extracts from hyrax, musk deer and civet. Ambergris, that is not taken directly from the sperm whale because it's their macerated "hairballs" found on beaches, is also illegal. When you hear people complain about "reformulation " in perfumed, it is often because of IFRA regulations. But sometimes - let's be honest - it's probably all about making money ...

[@shinnam]

My SO is super sensitive to perfumes. We have had to leave hotels because they use so much perfumes in their cleaning agents. 😢It is so difficult to get fragrance free products.

[@wakefulwitch]

I could have sworn you did a video on the impact of batteries. But I didn't see it checking your playlist. Am I imagining it or is it there somewhere? If not I'd love a video of it!!

[@Gittemary]

No I absolutely talked about it, both in the video about EVs and the one about smartphones and e-waste 🫡

[@katelawrence7445]

Don't worry about the different units of measurement. In all cases it is clear that it takes a shit load to get bugger all.

[@Gittemary]

an accurate summary 🤌

[@Moosebobadoug]

Amazing video ❤

[@lenazwarg4437]

Is there a way that you could highlight which link is the one with the list of recommended brands? I just came from your most recent video to find the list. I remember looking for the list a while ago and am at the same place clicking through all the links and speed reading articles to see if they are a source or also contain a list :) Maybe I'm asking for too much convenience, but if someone could let me know which #link to go to, that would be amazing. Thanks!

[@Gittemary]

The list is in the blogpost, which is linked in the top of the description ☺️

[@lenazwarg4437]

@@Gittemary Thank you!!

[@LizChaRob]

Just wondering, do you use perfume? Perfume is something I’ve been looking into recently and would love to find a sustainable option. For now, and years, the smell o’ Liz is enough!

[@joyruppert4710]

I have a small recommendation. It's this small business in the Netherlands called Lingua Planta. The owner is really into natural everything and tries to be sustainable. She even lists most of the companies and farms she sources her ingredients from on her website, and tries to get as much as possible organic, sustainable and fair labour etc. She makes everything by hand.

[@amerjoud6527]

On her insta post about this topic someone who is knowledgeable about the industry recommends Bastille and Henry Rose

[@mariacastro1180]

Where is the link for the more sustainable perfumes?

[@Gittemary]

Uh it’s in the script link, sorry for being unclear

[@melusine826]

From script- Perfume brands that are doing better: One seed Cultus Artem Henry Rose The 7 Virtues Ded Cool By Rosie Jane Phlur Linnic Ime Natural Blade + Bloom Thorn and Bloom Skylar Clean Maison Louis Marie Ellis Brooklyn Sana Jardin

[@Yozora0no0Hoshi]

@@melusine826 the hero we needed!

[@robinhood4640]

What doesn't help is the doctors who don't understand that breathing certain things, can cause physiological health issues. When they don't understand what is causing physiological problems, they conclude that the patient has psychological problems. If we knew that the millions of patients with "psychological problems" were actually suffering from the physiological effects of the crap they breathe, maybe the problem would receive the attention it needs.

[@radostka8495]

WOW

[@lauracanna2201]

Hi Gittemary, you forgot to put the names of the companies that are doing better in the description box (unless I'm just being blind)😅 Thanks ❤

[@Gittemary]

I put them in script post on my website, sorry for the confusion ✨😄

[@amerjoud6527]

​@@GittemaryWouldn't it be better to do both?

[@caeligratia6706]

A really low waste way to add a nice scent to air in your home is to boil water with leftover citrus peels before you compost them 🤍

[@josiemaromi6981]

Gittemary you should interview Patric Richardson The Laundry Evangelist! He recommends using a laundry soap made of saponified coconut oil, saponified sunflower oil, and food grade lye! 🥥🌻🧺

[@supernova622]

Soaps like this can create buildup due to minerals in hard water which can be bad for modern washing machines

[@josiemaromi6981]

@@supernova622 Yeah if you use too much soap in cold and hard water that can happen, but you should only use about a teaspoon of the soap flakes in warm water or hot water. Cold water doesn't activate the soap, or most laundry detergents for that matter. Per Patric: Cold-water detergents are designed to work in water that’s 58 to 62 degrees Fahrenheit; laundry manufacturers define this as cold. Unfortunately, cold water in 90% of American homes is probably 53 or so degrees.