Conference program at a glance
In this continuation of discussions entered into during the last Centifolia congresses, and in light of increasingly urgent consumer demand for transparency, safety, use of naturals, and “getting back to our roots,” the positioning of the Grasse pole, “Grasse, French Riviera, Land of Naturals,” has become a major issue with respect to the industry's future . The primary aim of this seventh edition of Centifolia is to develop and promote the use of naturals in perfumery and well-being products - both to finished product brands (purchasing, research, marketing, CEOs) and to ingredient manufacturers - under sustainable and ethical conditions.
Official Partner of Centifolia 2008: The French Perfume Committee (CFP)
At the heart of the matter…
- The major trends in consumer demand for natural products and well-being products: How does this relate to the notions of safety, ethics, and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)?
- The notion of risk-taking: “A society which takes no risks, dies.”
- How can negative impacts on the “shared heritage” be avoided or reduced? How to contribute to positive impacts: Production of plants that are threatened with extinction (patchouli, vetiver, ylang-ylang, etc..)
- The signing of a resolution (by the CEOs of the major Brands and ingredient manufacturers):
To promote equity in human exchanges in general, and specifically in commercial circles, between local communities and the “modern” world. To protect, under acceptable and sustainable conditions, the traditions, formulas and recipes, and ancestral savoir-faire of local communities and/or indigenous peoples as concerns the production and use of plants in cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals, and well-being products.
This is to address the urgent state of affairs in the following domains:
Cultural: The imminent disappearance or biopiracy of an exceptionally valuable ancestral heritage (plants, formulas and recipes, beneficial effects…)
Environmental: Climate change, protection of environment and biodiversity
Economic: The opportunity found in an emerging market: the tremendous success of natural products with consumers concerned about their health and safety, and who desire a more just and sustainable society.
Social: Autochthonous communities which have been “exterminated, despoiled, or uprooted,” who have lost all hope of recovering their dignity, a phenomenon which will inevitably have major negative consequences on modern society.
Political: A new awareness on the part of political leaders of the serious situation in which their indigenous communities find themselves, and who are seeking solutions to curb this phenomenon.
- The need for an industry-wide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) charter of commitment :
Presentation of the “Industry CSR Charter of Commitment” project developed by the Grasse industry and to which this local industry has already adopted.
- Is there a place in international treaties for sustainable and equitable commercial exchanges with local communities?
