A World of Scents

Over-consumption, deforestation, pesticides, invasive species, and climatic deregulation: all these planetary threats are having an impact on plant biodiversity. Among these plants are those that we often only know through their odor: fragrant plants. They comprise the world of aromas, and make up the wealth and diversity of our olfactory heritage. 

Over the centuries, we have learned to capture these odors. In the hands of artists of the sense of smell, they have become the keynotes of fragrant creations. But perfumery has gone from an artisanal craft to become a lucrative industry, consuming ever-greater quantities of raw materials. Today, perfume creators are sounding the alarm. Both large and small perfumeries are backing programs to develop new sustainable and fair-trade models and encourage the renaissance or the redeployment of traditional sustainable exploitation for the preservation of these precious plant species on which their activity depends. 

In this series, each episode presents a natural plant species (tonka bean, sandalwood, lavender, Ylang-ylang, rose...) its history, the threat it faces, its environment and the indigenous people associated with its production. A journey that takes us into the sensual and sophisticated universe of perfumery to discover the encounter between different worlds.