The Estée Lauder Companies’ Approach to Egyptian Jasmine

The BBC recently released a documentary, “Perfume’s Dark Secret,” about child labor in the collection of jasmine in Egypt, with a particular focus on two AERIN Beauty products. We are taking the allegations in the documentary very seriously and want to ensure you are aware of the steps we are taking to swiftly address this matter.

The Estée Lauder Companies absolutely prohibits the use of child labor. We believe the rights of all children should be protected. Our Supplier Code of Conduct outlines our mandate for suppliers, including vendors, service providers, independent contractors and consultants, and includes our strict policy against employment of children as a condition of doing business with our Company. We are actively engaged with our suppliers on this matter and are deeply committed to achieving full understanding of this serious situation so that we can develop appropriate action plans in accordance with our policy, ethics and values.

It is the responsibility of companies such as ours, particularly in a reality where child labor persists, to ensure we are holding ourselves and our suppliers accountable for better traceability, transparency and most importantly, systemic solutions that positively impact individuals and communities where we do business and source ingredients.

We believe wholeheartedly in collaborative, long-term engagement to address the complex socio-economic issues surrounding these small collection communities, knowing that meaningful, sustainable change will not happen overnight, but requires a deep commitment to constant engagement, with the communities at the heart of the solutions.

Our approach includes:

1. Deepen Transparency, Traceability and Accountability: We are engaging in 3rd party independent audits through suppliers as well as community-based nonprofits to help implement necessary supply chain interventions.
2. Lead Industry Coalitions to Drive Systemic Change: We are a founding member of an industry coalition comprised of suppliers, industry peers, local community and nonprofits to deepen engagement and develop short and long-term action plans that will enable us to work in a more coordinated and multi-faceted way that will better facilitate change.
3. Engage Local Communities in Long-Term Solutions: While we take action to enforce compliance with our Supplier Code of Conduct, we are extremely mindful that the most impactful solutions must be created with communities at the center. We will continue to engage local nonprofit partners to ensure we are acting in the communities’ best interest and contributing to a future that does not leave the communities behind.

The Estée Lauder Companies and AERIN Beauty are unwavering in our dedication to ethical sourcing practices. We have deep respect for the livelihood of local sourcing communities, and we are committed to addressing this matter urgently and for the long-term.

Additional information is available in our Supplier Code of Conduct.