Artist Residency Day One

The dichotomy persists - natural vs synthetic. There’s simply no better way of categorising the supply chain. This is where I will being my questions.

● Are natural perfume ingredients more ethical than synthetic ones?

○ Which has the greater cost to the planet: exploitation of natural resources, or production of man-made materials?

○ Are natural perfumes and skin care products exploiting our natural resources?

○ Is a natural ingredient "better" for us, even if it is more harmful than an inert synthetic one?

○ Are synthetic ingredients bad because they are developed in a laboratory rather than sourced from nature?

○ Is it more ethical to use a synthetic ingredient because it does not involve an animal product?

○ Is it better to have an underpaid farmer still working or a lab replace a farm entirely?

○ Is it worse to cause migraines (synthetics), or skin allergies (naturals)?

● If we publish perfume materials on packaging they are more likely to be fodder for perfume "dupes"; so do we keep the smoke and mirrors because it protects intellectual property?

● Are "traditional" ingredients still justified when blood money pays for them?

I doubt I’ll find any definitive answers to these - perhaps I’ll take a personal stance, perhaps I’ll find an exception that negates the rule, or perhaps I’ll throw my hands in the air exclaim that art isn’t supposed to be ethical!!!!!! Who knows.