It is a multi-billion dollar industry that enjoys a surge in sales in the run up to Christmas. However, there is a darker side to one of our most popular festive gifts. A new BBC documentary shows children as young as five working through the night to pick the jasmine flowers that are found in some of the most popular fragrances that sell for up to £200 a bottle.
Entire families who do this work can be the equivalent of one dollar a day for a 12-hour shift. A team of investigative journalists visited four locations in Egypt’s main jasmine-growing area in the Gharbia region in the summer of 2023. Jasmine must be picked at night because this is when the petals open (Image: Sonia Jane Smith) The film is focussed on one family and shows the mother taking her daughter to the doctor because she has developed a severe allergy from the work which is threatening her sight.
The United Nation’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery said what the film uncovered “may constitute the worst form of child labour”. Determining who should be held accountable, however, is not straightforward because of the complex chain of processes and different entities involved in every bottle of perfume. Top brands including L'Oréal, which owns the fragrance house Lancôme, and Estee Lauder are mentioned in the documentary.
"Some of these global brands have no idea as to how these material are sourced," says Dr Umair Choksy, a senior lecturer at Stirling University, which is hosting.
