Fragrance Without Footprint: Find Ethical Zero-Waste Scents
Most of the big brand scents are made with fake fragrance and sometimes animal or endangered ingredients. And massively over-priced to pay for over-packaging and celebrity endorsements. If you wear scent, here are better brands!
Never spray scent near babies or pets, and air rooms before allowing them back in. Avoid wearing scent at night, if pets sleep on your bed. Same with incense and cocoa solid perfumes (in case they lick your skin – same with beauty creams containing it and sun creams/cosmetics/deodorants with zinc oxide).
Ingredients to avoid in perfume & cologne
Parfum (this masks all kinds of nasties)
- Civet is from the glands of an Asian wild cat
- Castoreum (also used in ‘fake vanilla’) is from beavers
- Castoreum is from beavers
- Musk is from a tiny Siberian deer
- Hyraceum is from an African guinea pig
- Ambergris is from ‘whale poop’
- Rosewood oil (from a critically endangered tree)
- Ensure sandalwood and frankincense are sustainably-harvested
- Ensure eucalyptus is sustainably-harvested (monocultures can cause wildfires near koalas, for these flammable trees, and some harvesting involves chainsaws).
How to safely dispose of old scents
Don’t pour old perfumes down drains, as alcohol/oils can harm wildlife. Use them up and recycle empty bottles (take full/half-full bottles to household recycling, as hazardous waste).
Haoma (unique botanicals in frosted glass bottles)
Haoma is one of England’s nicest organic vegan perfumes, made with a blend of unique botanicals, sold in beautiful frosted glass bottles. First a little on their lovely scents, then follows an interview to learn more!
The signature fragrance of Haoma No.1 is suitable for men and women, which blends florals, woody and citrus notes. It uses natural resins and balsams to lock in scents, and is blended in small batches, to keep quality high.
You can also choose eau de parfums in other scents:
- Orange (citrus)
- Frankincense & Myrrh
- Lavender (relaxing)
- Ylang Ylang (floral)
Let’s interview Haoma Perfumes!
Here’s more information directly from the founder of Haoma perfumes!
What can we expect from your unique perfumes?
At Haoma, our mission is to completely eliminate all processed ingredients, all harmful chemicals, all preservatives and emulsifiers and anything synthetic or made in a lab. We only work with edible, pure, certified organic and certified vegan ingredients of the highest quality.
If you have not used anatural perfume before, you will notice they have a different scent profile. Around 99% of perfumes on the market use synthetic fragrances.
Even ‘natural’ brands all use synthetic fragrances, generally listed as ‘perfume’ , ‘parfum’ or ‘fragrance’ in the ingredients list. These terms by law do not have to be disclosed further and can be made of toxic materials.
Our advice is that you look at the full ingredients lists of your favourite perfumes (when the company discloses them, most do not). If you spot ‘perfume/parfum’ or ‘fragrance’ listed, synthetic molecules are being used.
Some companies add an asterisk with wording like: ‘made with essential oils / blend of natural oils’. If essential oils were truly being used, they would be listed individually, not hidden under blanket terms.
Here at Haoma, we are extremely proud of our perfumes and claim that we are one of the handful of companies in the entire world that is transparent. Our awards and reviews are a testimony to this. We are also very proud that all our perfumes are 100% British and handmade.
What’s the difference when using natural perfumes?
Natural scents will never smell the way synthetic ones do, nor should they. This is not a flaw in formulation nor will this change with technological advancements. We trust that as a society we will once more learn to appreciate and get used to the natural scents, however unfortunately big perfume producers in the world are working hard to stop this.
Let us give you an example. Organic Myrrh essential oil is around £1,300 per kilogram and we use this in our formulations, if we were to buy it as a synthetic ingredient it would cost us around £10 for the same quantity. This price gap explains why large perfume houses prefer synthetics, and why natural scents remain rare.
What perfumes do you offer?
We currently offer two types of perfumes:
Single Note Perfumes
- Lavender – a calming, floral classic
- Ylang ylang – exotic, sensual, and sweet
- Orange – bright, uplifting, and fresh
With single note perfumes you will only notice one aroma, which is the name of the perfume. We only use the essential oil of that particular plant to give a clear, defined experience.
Complex Perfumes
- No. 1 – a unisex fragrance with layers of geranium, patchouli, and green woody undertones. Floral, earthy, and long-lasting.
- Frankincense & Myrrh – deep, smoky and woody. Composed entirely of steam-distilled tree resins, offering a rich, earthy aroma.
Because our fragrances are made purely from essential oils, they are also aromatherapy products. Essential oil molecules cross the blood–brain barrier, meaning they can positively influence mood, well-being, and even physiological responses – offering more than just a beautiful scent.
Ink + Ocean Botanicals (natural perfumes with jojoba oil)
Ink + Ocean Botanicals is a London scent brand, which offers natural jojoba oil-based organic scents in glass bottles, plus organic solid perfumes in glass jars. Formulated by a qualified aromatherapist, click the ‘perfume’ category to the left on the Etsy shop link, for dozens of options.
The range includes Jardin de Papillon, which is like ‘walking into a summer garden’, with top notes of lavender and bergamot, middle notes of magnolia and ylang ylang, and end notes of earthy sandalwood and vetiver.
Also in a wildflower scent, with notes of fresh mint, lavender and chamomile, middle notes of rose and ylang ylang and base notes of cedarwood and patchouli.
Solid perfumes are popular, as they don’t spill and are good for travel, like taking through airport security that now bans some liquid in bottles. The waxy base also holds scent longer.
Others also don’t have to ‘walk through a cloud of scented mist’, even if you like to! They are also more affordable, as you are not ‘spraying scent into the air’, that just gets wasted.
Corin Craft (organic perfumes from Sussex)
Corin Craft offers nice handmade organic perfumes from Sussex. Also in small atomisers for more affordability, the range includes:
- Rose Absolute
- Ylang Ylang & Jasmine
- Patchouli & Orange Blossom
- Crushed Black Pepper & Sweet Orange
Edinburgh Natural Perfume Oils
Edinburgh Natural Perfume Oils are made from a simple blend of natural oils and essences, in pretty roller ball packaging. These offer a long-lasting scent with just a small application, and are gentle on skin without leaving a greasy residue. Sold in eco packaging.
Use code ENGLANDNATURALL for 10% discount.
We do not recommend rosewood, as this oil is from an endangered tree.
Wit + West (an inspirational scent from the USA)
Wit & West is an example of a truly trustworthy scent company, that does not use any synthetic parfum. Most perfumes sold in the UK use parfum, and this proves that it’s unnecessary.
