• +353 (0)83 8190661
  • info@npacertification.com
Natural Botanical Perfumery News-NPA Official
Perfumery & Organized Crime​

Perfumery & Organized Crime​

The Hidden Costs of Precious Woods by Nicole Byrd

I love sandalwood, as does my mother, as did my grandmother. It’s a perfume all on its own: rich, complex, transportive. And so long lasting. It’s also where my hobby of making natural perfumes intersects with my profession, which is combatting organized crime.

Having been tempted by vials of purported Mysore oil online, despite knowledge of the violence, corruption, and environmental destruction behind them, I’d like to share with my fellow NPA students about why it is so important to resist the purchase of protected species. Not only are we loving them to death, but black-market sales of threatened and endangered flora and fauna are key revenue sources for organized crime. Buying these oils can mean that you’re funding some of the world’s most violent criminal networks. 

In 2004, India’s public enemy #1, alias Veerappan, was killed in a police shootout(1). He was the country’s biggest sandalwood trafficker. He also slaughtered an estimated 2000 elephants for the ivory trade and committed kidnapping for ransom and murder. More recently, the ongoing illegal trade was highlighted when, in 2023, Kenya burned 13.5 tons of sandalwood that had been illegally felled and sold(2). Officially banned since 2007 because of the trees’ endangered status, harvesting sandalwood in Kenya—including in nationally protected forests—has continued(3), driven by international demand that is heedless of the disappearance of the species from the wild.

“Nature crimes” are generally low-risk for criminals, with lower law enforcement priority, lower funding, and lighter legal penalties than drug, arms, or human trafficking. This makes them attractive means by which criminals make money to then invest in other types of criminal enterprises. We’re not talking about small investments either—Interpol estimated in 2024 that illegal logging and timber trade generated between $51 and $152 billion annually worldwide (4). And unfortunately, increased scarcity has a direct relationship to prices, perversely increasing species’ attractiveness to criminals the closer they edge toward extinction. This means that the damage from the illegal logging of precious woods doesn’t only remove them from the wild and affect the surrounding ecosystems—which are reason enough to practice avoidance—but the ripple effects of the illicit activities that this money fuels just keep extending outward. 

Rosewood(5)(6)(7) and agarwood/oud(8)(9) have similar stories to sandalwood. Both are targeted by violent criminal networks which use the proceeds to entrench their operations, making them increasingly difficult to dismantle and hold accountable. Like sandalwood, their stories intertwine with other types of crime from the same organizations: a Southeast Asian syndicate that trafficked in agarwood also poached tigers for their claws and skins and trafficked women from Vietnam(10). A Thai ranger was shot by a poacher while trying to protect agarwood trees in a national park(11). Rosewood—popular for furniture as well—has been labeled ‘conflict timber’ in parts of Africa, where it funds insurgent groups(12)(13). Honest officials are heroic, but at constant risk from both criminals and corrupted colleagues. And when Customs agencies seize trafficked cargo(14), the damage has already been done. 

There are, of course, ways to obtain many items sustainably, though the average consumer isn’t positioned to independently verify supply chains. Greenwashing is abundant. Suppliers and middlemen often falsify documents, and as noted above, corruption can secure the necessary permits for virtually anything. However, before you get too depressed, there are reputable plantations out there! Be picky about your suppliers, don’t be shy about asking questions, and avoid particularly problematic species or countries of origin. As cited in NPA’s course, the IUCN Redlist is a good place to start for the conscientious natural perfumer who would like to help protect these beautiful raw materials.

The NPA instructors made a point of educating us about CITES, the main international mechanism that regulates trade in endangered species. However, it’s worth noting that CITES too is susceptible to corruption, with many officials having been arrested for selling export permits for bribes. In addition, CITES only covers international trade, so illegal deforestation and harvesting domestically is not subject to the permitting process at all. For U.S. students, the Lacey Act criminalizes the purchase and import to the U.S. of materials that are protected in their home countries. In other words, if you buy something that you shouldn’t while traveling (who doesn’t love a good souk or bazaar?), you can be legally liable at home. (15)Be cautious and treat yourself to as many materials that don’t cause harm as your suitcase will hold!

This is heavy stuff, especially if this is your first encounter with the criminal underworld’s role in environmental destruction. I understand completely; looking at this material every day is the reason I need to escape to my perfume organ when I log off! Enjoy your materials, creativity, and this course—and consider joining NPA and the larger natural perfume community in safeguarding some of perfumery’s most incredible raw materials.

Nicole Byrd is an NPA student and a seasoned Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) analyst, strategist, and project manager with over 15 years of experience. She specializes in combating environmental and wildlife crime, bringing a systems-thinking approach to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Passionate about sustainability and ethical practices, Nicole combines her professional expertise with her love for natural perfumery to advocate for responsible sourcing. Connect with her on LinkedIn: Nicole Byrd on LinkedIn.

https://www.downunderenterprises.com/lacey_act_sandalwood#:~:text=Some%20syndicates%20were%20f%20ound%20to,208%2C000kg%20of%20Sandalwood%20logs
15
https://www.customs.gov.hk/en/customs-announcement/press release/index_id_4345.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
14
https://https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51nnzzkpkyo
13
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/1/23/conflict-tinder-gambian-traJickers-continue-timber-trade despite-ban
12
https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/oud-agarwood-scent-from-heaven/phone/scent-from-heaven the-human-cost-of-wild-oud.html
11
https://wildlifejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Case-5-Crime-Convergence-Report.pdf
10
https://www.traJic.org/news/not-so-fragrant-trading-demand-for-aromatic-agarwood-threatens-source aquilaria-trees-in-philippines/
9
https://www.traJic.org/publications/reports/factsheet-on-indias-agarwood-in-illegal-wildlife trade/#:~:text=The%20species%20is%20exploited%20for,fragrant%20heartwood%2C%20threatening%20its %20population.
8
https://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/article/the-race-to-save-rosewoods-the-worlds-most-traJicked-wild-species
7
https://rosewoodracket.eia-global.org
6
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/overexploited-and-underprotected-study-urges-action-on-asias rosewoods/
5
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-anti-money-laundering-laws-in-singapore-target-kingpins profits-from-environmental-crime
4
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313661051_The_hunt_for_the_precious_wood_Illegal_trade_of_sa ndalwood_as_an_international_criminal_enterprise_in_Kenya
3
https://allafrica.com/stories/202303010346.html
2
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6275521
1

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *