Experts dwell on how climate change is affecting the perfume industry

Heres an ominous prediction It may just happen that in a few decades we may not remember what the whiff of jasmine wafting through the air smells like It also means we may no longer have fragrances that smell of mogra available on store shelvesDestruction of the ecosystem and radical change are affecting the growth of aromatic flowers and herbs ldquoYou have to understand that a perfume is made up of around 2000 ingredientsrdquo says Mumbai resident Manan Gandhi ldquoAnd these are sourced from all over the world Changes in climatic patterns are affecting several of these ingredientsrdquoKannaujbased Boondrsquos thrust is on sticking to the ancient degbhapka techniquemdasha slow distillation process where a copper vessel or deg is filled with flowers herbs and water sealed with mud and put on a wood fire The fragrant steam travels through the bhapka and is cooled in water to become a perfume The final fragrance is a combination of oils extracted from this process and does not include alcoholGandhi 37 is founder of indie fragrance outfit Bombay Perfumery which he launched in 2016 and sees sales globally online South India where jasmine or mogra is cultivated has seen whimsical weather directly impacting the flowerrsquos yield ldquoThis year two nurseries were wiped out because of the rain we received in January and February This meant that the crop had to be harvested in March and April when itrsquos much hotter This change ends up affecting the key markers in the flowerrdquo he explains Patchouli a bushy perennial herb was imported from Sumatra in western Indonesia But over the years with the land there turning arid it now has to be sourced from an island called Sulawesi ldquoBut this is a different kind of patchouli which means that the formula and fragrance will change We might even have to alter the ingredients that go with itrdquoAlso Read Dare to bare Whats making naked dressing popular in 2022Gandhi is referring to a headache that the global fragrance industry which was pegged at 3369 billion in 2020 and is predicted to grow to 409 billion in 2025 is grappling with And climate change is not limited to a heavier monsoon According to reports from Europe erratic weather pattern changes are affecting jasmine production in Grasse on the French Riviera The extreme drought the area has faced means that the production of jasmine which here is more expensive than gold and tuberose went down by 40 to 50 per cent This in turn affected the production of iconic bestsellers like Chanel No 5 and Diorrsquos Jrsquoadore For a business that is now inundated with synthetic fragrances climate change and its consequences mean yet another blow to natural ingredientsBoond founders siblings Varun and Krati TandonWhat could save the industry say experts is innovation and adapting to newer scentsIn India the situation say perfumers is a shade better A study titled Impact of climate change on medicinal and aromatic plants published in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences said ldquoThere are now changes in the phenological events of many plant species such as the timing of plantsrsquo bud bursts first leafings first flowerings first seed or fruit dispersal etc Studies and records indicate that many plants including MAPs medicinal and aromatic plants have started blooming earlier in response to the early occurrences of spring temperatures and weatherrdquo It also believed that ldquoIndia where climate is largely controlled by an annual monsoon appears to be experiencing increasingly severe and erratic precipitation This increase in extreme rainfall events indicates a greater potential for future natural disasters Experts have claimed that the frequency and intensity of flooding has likewise been increasing in India in recent years and hailstorms have caused huge agricultural losses Therefore such events are to be understood and their impact on MAPs needs to be diagnosed States like Gujarat and Rajasthan experienced hailstorms and rain in 2006 2007 and 2008 at times when such events traditionally have not occurred within the past 50 yearsrdquoJyoti MarwahThe report cites the example of heavy rainfall occurring earlier than usual in Northern India and reportedly damaging wild mint Mentha arvensis Lamiaceae crops A study conducted by Bhim Rao Ambedkar College Delhi University in Sikkim analysed the potential habitat distribution of 163 medicinal plant species that are frequently used in essential oils in both the current and future climate scenarios in 2050 and 2070 Published in Ecological Informatics it used the ldquomaximum species distribution modellingrdquo technique that puts together observations of species occurrences with environmental information to project future distribution of species Current speciesrich areas are likely to shift by 200 metres and 400 metres in 2050 and 2070 respectively the study said Even more worrying is that it stated that between 13 and 16 per cent of plant species in the region are likely to lose their habitat by 2050 and 2070 which means that they can no longer grow where they have traditionally and naturally grown for hundreds of yearsFor Gandhi innovation means moving to scents that steer clear of flowers and focus on cedar wood pine and oudh or agarwood ldquoWe are not as large as Chanel to face extensive challenges but yes we too have had to start shifting to more woody scents and mossy notesrdquo Itrsquos not surprising that Bombay Perfumery has a fragrance called Chai Musk priced at R4100 which is a mix of lemongrass spicy ginger green tea warm nutty notes and musky sandalwood It also incorporates a ldquohot milk accordrdquo to make it smell like a fragrant cup of Bambaiyya cutting chaiA view of a lavender field at the First Lavender Festival in the Himalayas on May 26 in Bhaderwah Lavender cultivation is new to India and in the last 10 years it has become a popular crop In the Lavender Valley of India in Bhaderwah about 75 million worth of lavender oil is extracted PicGetty ImagesAhmedabadbased Rajiv Sheth is the founder of All Good Scents Sheth who studied the art of creating perfumes in France and comes from a family that has seen three generations of perfumers agrees that the worry is immediate and real The family who had until now made their perfumes in France are now finding it prohibitively expensive due to erratic weather ldquoPeople are now shifting to India and looking at our rose and mogra so we are gaining I have started innovating in my own waymdashwe reconstitute jasmine or lily of the valley in a lab We make aromatic chemicals that smell as natural as the real thing Another alternative is creating controlled plantations like they are doing for agarwood in the Far Eastrdquo he says of the resinfilled wood from the agar tree thatrsquos used in perfumes and incense This technique refers to growing a plant under controlled conditions and manipulated by human interventionWhile manufacturers may be looking at alternative scents altogether agricultural experts havenrsquot lost all hope Agronomist Sukesh Kumar Sinha who works with the Mumbaibased flavour and fragrance company SH Kelkar says that tissue culture and cloning is the way forward ldquoWe are in the business of making perfumes and each of our perfume constitutes anywhere close to 4000 ingredients out of which 470 are natural essential oils Plants like geranium patchouli and lavender donrsquot grow extensively in India We source planting material from their traditional growing areas and clone them Awareness is then created among farmers about why itrsquos beneficial to switch to these We also train them in how to extract the oils and we buy back from themrdquo he tells midday He gives the example of geranium which grows in Maharashtra ldquoIn LehLadakh we are growing lavender and chamomile and in the Konkan we are growing patchouli citronella and vetiver or khusrdquoKamaljit KaurJyoti Marwah researcher and founder of the Mussoorie Fragrance and Flavours Institute says that tissue culture could be the only solution left before us She speaks despondently of losing the lavender crop this year after it rained in Uttarakhand between April and November ldquoThis year Europe has seen a severe dry spell When I spoke to my contacts there they said that the droughtlike conditions have even affected wild treesrdquo India she says could be the raw materials reservoir the world may turn to but Marwah says itrsquos going to take thorough research and study to ldquosee what works whererdquo She gives the example of the tests the institute is conducting on how stress effects chamomile ldquoWhen we learn how it affects the medicinal herb we can figure how to mitigate the effect But this cannot happen right awayrdquoBut itrsquos important we start In the southern Indian states many known for their jasmine production mogra yields have been low due to the early morning frost that has extended beyond the winter months and pest menace especially in villages like Vadakarapathy in Palakkad which sits on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu Since the flower grows well in warmer weather farmers use this rain shadow area to cultivate it They bloom within six months and are profitable commanding anywhere between Rs 700 and Rs2500 a kg A daily output of 200 gm from one plant can reduce to as low as 50 due to change in weatherA tribal woman harvesting Jasmine in Anaikatti Tamil Nadu PicGetty ImagesKamaljit Kaur who runs the tea company HerBlend in Munnar a hill station in Idukki district of Kerala and grows the flowers she uses in her teas says that climate change has well and truly arrived ldquoWe have seen less rain and that has affected the volume of produce even in plants that used to grow abundantly But we have options we simply have to lookrdquo She speaks of the junglee kitonia a plant from the Ixora rubiaceae species Its fragrance says Kaur is mild like tuberose and has a hint of vanillaArawinth Kumar global procurement manager Jayanti SpicesBut it is long lasting ldquoIf you rub it in your palm the fragrance will last for a few hours They also grow through the year and donrsquot demand much care Many fragrance companies are now turning to it The golden shower flower cassia fistula in my opinion is better than mogra and chameli It has a hint of peppermint We have begun exporting all these varieties to EuroperdquoManan Gandhi of Bombay Perfumery says that they are now turning to nonfloral ingredients like oudhArawinth Kumar is global procurement manager for Jayanti Spices a Coimbatorebased agribusiness firm engaged in the export of value added spices The 72yearold company used to import rosemary an evergreen fragrant shrub from Turkey They now have turned to Talavadi Hills near Ooty where it is grown The oil extracted from the herb is used in the pharma industry and in the cosmetic business with high exports to European countries Because it can withstand drought conditions is perennial in nature and doesnrsquot attract animals farmers have taken a shine to it ldquoFarmers are facing the brunt of climate change but they are learning how to adaptrdquo says Kumar hinting perfumers must too ldquoRosemary from Turkey smells entirely different from the crop grown in Talavadi So we will have to figure how to tweak manufacture and see if those changes work for buyers and clientsrdquoRajiv Sheth of All Good Scents says that Europe soon may be looking at India for its need for raw materialsFor an indie fragrance brand like Boond which ships perfumes handcrafted in Kannauj the epicentre of perfume production in India globally the key is keeping it uncomplicated ldquoYes climate change is a concern but for smaller brands like ours the key is to use practices and ingredients that are sustainable Our creations can be manufactured without electricity even and we would never want to step in a lab We use everything that is localrdquo says its founder Krati Tandon who along with her brother Varun launched the brand during the COVID lockdown of 2021 after seeing firsthand how the fragrance industry artisans had suffered during the pandemic Their thrust is on sticking to the ancient degbhapka techniquemdasha slow distillation process where a copper vessel or deg is filled with flowers herbs and water sealed with mud and put on a wood fire The fragrant steam travels through the bhapka and is cooled in water to become a perfume The final fragrance is a combination of oils extracted from this process and does not include alcohol While their floral and woody range includes the king of aromatic blossoms Gulabi or rose and Motiya or jasmine and is priced between Rs 1399 and Rs 1529 their bestseller smells are not of flowers and herbs but mud Rs 1449 ldquoMaati evokes the experience of wet earth smells after the first rain Who can beat that scentrdquo