Child labour behind global brands’ best-selling perfumes - BBC World Service Documentaries

A new investigation from BBC Eye takes you to the heart of the jasmine trade in Egypt, to reveal the dark secrets behind the perfume industry. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 Children are working in dangerous conditions throughout the night, and pickers are often earning as little as a dollar a day, while huge profits are made by the giants in the perfume industry. Over half of the world’s supply of jasmine is produced in Egypt and this story reveals the true human cost of this precious flower, considered to be one of the most valuable ingredients used in some of the world’s most iconic perfumes. Billion-dollar global brands, who use Egyptian jasmine in their perfumes, claim to have zero tolerance on child labour throughout their supply chains. But the BBC can reveal that in the 2023 jasmine harvest season, children - some as young as five years old - were working in the jasmine fields that were supplying these global brands through factories in Egypt. 0:00 ‘Perfume’s Dark Secret’ 02:30 The importance of jasmine in Egypt 05:30 When the sun goes down 09:18 Making less than one dollar a day 11:39 Living below the poverty line 12:55 In the factory farms 14:53 Global brands and their supply chains 20:44 The Fragrance Houses 22:06 The impact on health 24:15 The UN Special Rapporteur 26:03 Due diligence checks 30:06 Sedex’s and UEBT’s response 32:11 ’The Masters’ 33:20 How much is this bottle? 36:12 Local factories’ response 37:34 “We need corporate accountability” 39:20 Fragrance Houses respond To watch more investigative journalism from our award-winning BBC Eye team check out this documentary playlist, perfect for the biggest screen in your home ➡️ ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 Twitter 👉🏽 Facebook 👉🏽 BBC World Service website 👉🏽 Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #BBCEye #Perfume