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Perfume’s dark secret

Children as young as five are picking jasmine, an ingredient used in some of the world's leading perfume brands, a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ investigation finds.

The global perfume industry is worth billions. Some luxury brands sell for hundreds of dollars a bottle. But Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Eye Investigations has discovered that when the sun goes down in Egypt, there is a hidden human cost to this industry.

In the summer of 2023, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ visited four different locations in Egypt’s main jasmine-growing area in the Gharbia region, and found children - some as young as five - working at night to pick the jasmine that was supplied to some of the world’s leading perfume brands through factories in Egypt. The UN’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery tells the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ what it has uncovered "may constitute the worst form of child labour".

We hear the story of one family who say they have no choice but to take their children into the jasmine fields to work, in order to earn enough money to live.

Reporter: Natasha Cox
Producers: Ahmed El Shamy and Louise Hidalgo
Editors: Rebecca Henschke and Rosie Garthwaite
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill and James Beard

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 2 Jun 2024 21:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 30 May 2024 01:32GMT
  • Thu 30 May 2024 08:32GMT
  • Thu 30 May 2024 19:06GMT
  • Sat 1 Jun 2024 16:32GMT
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  • Sun 2 Jun 2024 04:32GMT
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  • Sun 2 Jun 2024 21:32GMT