Newsflash from Cropwatch Nov 2007
Co-founder of Cropwatch, Tony Burfield, has been invited to give an address to the UEAPME (European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) Cosmetics Forum in Brussels on 9th November 2007, describing Cropwatch's activities in the aromatic sector, & focusing on the difficulties that SME's (micro-, Small & Medium sized Enterprises) have with the existing European Cosmetics Directive, its seven amendments and its forty or so technical adaptations to progress, with a view to its ultimate simplification. A simplification of the Cosmetics Directive was originally proposed to improve the competitiveness of industry within the EU, the world’s largest cosmetic market. However there are some signs that the EU Commissioners have been looking back over their shoulders and have seen how the Chinese cosmetics market is growing 10% year on year, a rate of expansion unmatched by the European market.
Meanwhile Cropwatch has completed an extensive update of threatened species in the aroma raw materials trade, to be released shortly, and to be followed later by similar comprehensive review for non-aromatic cosmetic raw materials. The aroma materials review features several new areas of ecological concern, including balsams such as gurjun balsam, widely used as a fixative & cheap filler in perfume compounds. In addition we also highlight the pressure on linalol-containing essential oils by including new entries for ho wood oil, now that the market understands that the Chinese authorities are currently preventing linalol chemotypes of Cinnamomum camphora trees from being destructively harvested. This will lead to severe shortages of ho oils (as has happened several times over the last several years) or may terminate their supply completely. As your readership may guess, we can now trace a progression of ecological pressure on linalol-bearing trees, from linaloe oil produced from chipped wood of the now severely threatened Mexican Bursera glabrifolia tree (which was introduced into India). The deterioration in quality of linaloe oil around 1920 or thereabouts led to the market looking to rosewood from French Guiana as a second best choice as a linalol-containing essential oil (in spite of what you may read elsewhere!). The over-exploitation of rosewood trees in French Guiana and eventually from Brazil, lead to scarcity & together with rising oil costs, has since favoured the use of ho oils. Although ho wood oil is neither an odour match/substitute for rosewood oil, the rectified forms of ho oil with negligible camphor content have provided a highly exploitable source of 98-99% natural laevo-linalol, often at a bulk price cheaper than synthetic racemic linalol. Where will the market go now to find natural linalol? The answer perhaps lies with more extensive production coriander seed oil from which attractively-odoured dextro-linalol is easily isolated. Unfortunately coriander seed is currently quite scarce, and therefore the essential oil is relatively expensive.
Cropwatch updates contentious areas such as animal products used in fragrances, and examines the differing interpretations of CITES meeting outcomes over animal by-products such as ambergris, as shown by national governments (e.g. Australia). We also feature a definition of natural products which includes no animal-derived materials and the key phrase "must benefit the poor". As an example of matters working in the opposite situation, we look at the Buchu oil situation in South Africa. In spite of industry trade hype and grandiose statements from SA government agencies talking up the future of SA buchu oil production, the situation on the ground has not been properly explained. Whilst the manner in which wild-gathering of buchu (which included uprooting the plant from the ground, including the roots) undoubtedly further endangered its ultimate survival, it also gave desperately needed income to S. African peoples, some 20% of whom live in total abject poverty. Now legal moves on buchu gathering (permits are required for growing & gathering) give powerful sole rights to rich farmers and prevent “buchu poaching”, ultimately endorsing an industry which has been described as “plagued by Mafia-like hierarchy and overt corruption” (Ashoton 2003). Its' hard to see how these moves can "benefit the poor", rather, as with many other valuable aroma products, the rich seem to get richer, at the direct expense of the poor.
In the update we look more intently at the sandalwood industry and Australian officials’ apparent ambitions to corner the market, & we suggest by inference that government scientists who talk-up the sandalwood oil prospects in the world markets should learn to speak in the widely understood terms which the market uses. We further update Aquilaria (agarwood) entries to CITES Appendix II listings and speculate that a new generation of young aromatic material users will only have the opportunity to experience adulterated or low grade plantation products (for both gaharu & sandalwood qualities), and that the 'old hands' in the trade are rapidly forgetting what the 'real stuff' used to smell like. We substantiate this theory by quoting the amounts of both West African sandalwood oil and logs, and the amount of Australian sandalwood logs delivered to East Indian Sandalwood distilleries. Smell a rat anybody?
In the next Cropwatch Newsletter we also feature a presentation by Professor Jurgen Reichling of the University of Heidelberg given at the 38th ISEO Symposium in Graz in Sept 2007 entitled “External application of essential oils in animals. In addition we feature a presentation by Dr. Hassan Khalid et. al. on “Trade of Sudanese natural medicinals and their role in human & wildlife healthcare.”
Contact:
Cropwatch www.cropwatch.org
Tony Burfield info@cropwatch.org
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