In our series EcoHomeLife Explains we cover terms and concepts in relation to sustainability, which are important to understand if you want to reduce your impact on our planet. In this edition we look closely at synthetic fragrances.
One thing I come across again and again when I research how to become more sustainable is artificial fragrances. No matter if you look at cleaning products, deodorants, sunscreens or other personal care products, they all contain synthetic perfumes.
Those are fragrance ingredients that are made in a lab rather than from natural sources, such as essential oils. The vast majority of eco-friendly brands don’t use synthetic perfumes because they are toxic to our environment.
But some do because they say that the manufacturing of essential oils isn’t sustainable either. So I did a lot of research and here is what I found out…
The Environmental Impact Of Synthetic Fragrances
With everything we make synthetically, including fragrance chemicals, there are three ways how it can impact on our environment:
- The material it is made of
- The way it’s manufactured
- The impact the finished ingredient has on our planet
So let’s look closer at all three to find out how much of an environmental impact these lab-made fragrances have.
Source Material
The majority of synthetic fragrances that are used in products are made from petroleum, which means fossil fuels. (Rádis-Baptista 2023)
There is a huge problem with using these petrochemicals, because it means we need to continue to extract fossil fuels.
Using them as a source material isn’t sustainable because we only have a limited amount left. But even worse, if we don’t stop their extraction, we won’t be able to keep the earth’s surface temperature below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. (Welsby et al., 2021)
And this means climate change will continue, making global warming worse and causing a climate catastrophe.
Already, we see the consequences of climate change all over the world, with storms, flooding, droughts, wildfires, heat waves and melting ice caps starting to become more frequent and intense.
So artificial fragrances that are made using petrochemicals have a huge impact on our environment.
Manufacturing Processes
Producing fragrance ingredients in the lab involves many different processes, which can be energy-intensive. Some also produce harmful and toxic waste products, that could get into our environment if not managed correctly.
According to a study that looked at a life cycle assessment (LCA) of fragrances using three different tools, the main environmental concerns with fossil-fuel based fragrances are the source material and the transformation processes. (Martz et al., 2023)
While not every single fossil fuel-based fragrance ingredient needs the same manufacturing process, some are considered to have a high environmental impact.
It’s very difficult to find out which perfume chemicals are exactly used in any product, because the formulas are considered a trade secret. This means that we can never be sure how big an impact the fragrances have on our environment in terms of the transformation process.
Fragrances In Our Environment
Finally, we need to look at how the ingredients behave once they reach our environment. Fragrance ingredients are used in a wide range of different products, including shampoos, shower gels, make-up, perfume, laundry detergent, deodorants and cleaning products.
Many of these products end up being washed down our drains at some point. With laundry detergents or shampoos this happens immediately, with deodorants or make-up it happens when we shower or wash.
Because waste water treatment plants aren’t made to stop fragrance molecules, they get into our waterways. Studies have proven the presence of various fragrance chemicals in our aquatic ecosystems. (Li et al., 2018)
Once in these aquatic environments, many don’t biodegrade, which means they persist there for a long time. They can get into aquatic organisms where they bioaccumulate, making their negative effects worse.
Studies of some commonly used fragrance materials have shown that they are harmful to marine life. (Picone et al., 2021) One commonly used synthetic fragrance chemical breaks down into different molecules, which are even more toxic than the original material. (Wu et al., 2021)
More research is needed to establish what impact the huge amount of fragrance chemicals that enter our waterways have on aquatic life. But the studies that have already been conducted show that they cause harm.
Essential Oils Aren’t As Sustainable As You Might Think
Many manufacturers of products using fragrances have caught on to the fact that consumers are aware of the negative impact of artificial perfume ingredients. As a result, some have started to use essential oils instead.
As a natural alternative to synthetic perfumes, essential oils are seen as the sustainable option. However, they aren’t as sustainable as you might think. Let’s look at the same three factors again, but this time for essential oils.
Source Material
Essential oils have been made for thousands of years to create beautiful scents. They are made from plants, such as rose, lavender, jasmine, sage, pine, etc. or animal products, such as musk.
Although the use of animal products has fallen with many people looking for products without them.
Plants are a renewable source material, as they can be regrown every year. However, the increased demand for essential oils has brought some plants close to extinction. One example is sandalwood oil, which is made from Santalum album.
Due to unsustainable cultivation practices, it is now on the list of endangered species, which makes sandalwood oil not only very expensive, but also unsustainable. (Cancellieri et al., 2024)
Another problem with commercially produced essential oils is that common farming practices are used. This means the use of chemical fertiliser and pesticides, which contribute to water, soil and air pollution.
Water irrigation and the use of farm machinery, which use fossil fuels, also contribute to negative impacts on our environment.
At the same time, in many cases only parts of the plant are used, which reduces the yield and the need for more plant material. And often the unused parts become waste. Due to the high demand of essential oils and their low yield, more land is needed.
This can lead to habitat loss, when woods are cut down to grow flowers for essential oil production. For this reason, essential oils aren’t scoring particularly well when it comes to sustainability. (Martz et al., 2023)
Manufacturing Processes
To extract essential oils, mechanical processes are used, such as steam distillation. Solvent extraction is also used to produce essential oils for the fragrance industry. Newer methods include the use of microwaves and ultrasound. (Stratakos et Koidis, 2015)
These various manufacturing methods are seen as less impactful on our environment than those for synthetic perfumes. (Martz et al., 2023)
Essential Oils In Our Environment
Because they are natural, essential oils are often seen as not being harmful to our environment. However, this isn’t true.
While essential oils are biodegradable, since they are from plant-based sources, that doesn’t mean that they can’t cause harm to our environment. Biodegradability relies on the right conditions and without them, it might take longer.
Essential oil compounds often end up in our waterways, as they are used in products that will end up down the drain such as shampoos, shower gels, cosmetics, cleaning products, detergents and many more.
Although the toxicity of essential oils hasn’t been researched as much, there are studies out there. A review of these studies concluded that while more specific research into the toxicity of essential oils is needed, they appear to be more toxic than thought. (Ferraz et al., 2021)
However, on the whole they have a lower impact than their synthetic equivalents.
Renewable And Biodegradable
So neither synthetic fragrances nor essential oils are without their issues. But where does this leave us?
Well, for now that means we have to make a decision as to what we are willing to accept and which environmental impacts we deem worse. The continued use of fossil fuels and anything made from them has to stop, there is no doubt in my mind.
And there are ways to reduce the impact of essential oils, such as organic farm practices, which prohibit the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Or wild harvesting, which means that plants that grow wild are used to make essential oils.
But there we need to be careful of overharvesting and the amount gained through this method will be limited.
When it comes to synthetically produced fragrances, the source materials and manufacturing processes need changing. The onus has to be on renewable and biodegradable source materials and sustainable processes.
There are already perfume chemicals that are made from plant-based materials, sometimes even waste products from other industries. And manufacturers are already looking into making their manufacturing processes more sustainable.
But for us as consumers, I think we need to evaluate our use of fragrances. Do we really need everything to smell nice? A cleaning product that doesn’t contain any perfume will clean just as well. And after all, clean doesn’t smell.
The same is true for personal care products. Does our shampoo need to smell of vanilla and our shower gel of grapefruit? There are plenty more examples.
To reduce the impact of any fragrance chemicals, the best way is to use them less. Choose unscented whenever possible. But if you want perfume, you have to decide which type of fragrances you can best live with: synthetic or essential oils.
