Parfums Christian Dior, Givenchy Parfums and Kenzo Parfums, members of the LVMH group, have announced their strategic collaboration with the Cristal Union agricultural cooperative to improve agricultural practices in the beet sector, the source of the alcohol used in their perfumes.

This year, the three companies are financing a project to support the agroecological transition of 380 hectares of beet crops in the Grand Est region, to produce the equivalent of 45 % of their alcohol needs*.

This project is based on the Indice de régénération, a tool developed and verified by the association "Pour une agriculture du vivant", to assess the agroecological score of farms and support farmers in their progress.

"This collaboration marks an important milestone on the Life 360 program's path towards the regeneration of 5 million hectares of ecosystems. Sugar beet plays a key role in the supply chain of the LVMH Beauty business group. Implementing new, virtuous production models in this sector represents a key step on the road to fulfilling our commitments.says Hélène Valade, LVMH's Director of Environmental Development.

In addition, for a period of five years, LVMH is financing a research and development program with Cristal Union on 12 farms to test new agronomic practices aimed in particular at :

• Reducing nitrogen inputs to beet crops by optimizing plant cover crops.
• Limit the use of mineral fertilizers by increasing the use of organic matter.

"At Cristal Union, we place great importance on agronomic R&D and tailor-made support for our cooperative members as they develop their farming practices. Our collaboration with LVMH, in this new project dedicated to the development of agroecology techniques, is part of this approach".says Bruno Labilloy, Cristal Union's Agricultural Director.

As part of these trials, the three houses will be working with Genesis, selected by the LVMH start-up house and awarded a prize at VivaTech for its tool for measuring soil health and quality. Genesis will be in charge of collecting precise, geolocalized information on soils on a regular basis, in order to assess the impact of agricultural practices on their health and contribution to ecosystem functions.

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Cristal Union, at a glance

The Cristal Union group is one of Europe's leading producers of sugar and alcohol. It operates mainly in France, and generates a significant proportion of its sales abroad. It employs over 2,000 people at group level and 9,000 beet-growing cooperators. Its organization and operations are based on the cooperative model.

Febea (Fédération des entreprises de la beauté) has reaffirmed the safety of octocrylene sunscreen in response to the publication of articles reporting a request to the government by Anses to restrict its use.

At the end of May 2023, the French National Health and Safety Agency (Anses) took a stance on octocrylene, a position reported in the press: in view of the risks that octocrylene poses to the environment, the Anses recommended that the Ministry of the Environment initiate, at European level, a proposal for a restriction.

Following publication of the press articles, Febea issued a press release in defense of this authorized ingredient.

"Octocrylene, like all other sunscreens, is regularly monitored and reassessed by the authorities. They have confirmed its safety at authorized doses, emphasizes Febea. As for the possible impact of this sunscreen on the marine environment, there is currently no standardized method for measuring it; nevertheless, the cosmetics sector is mobilized to undertake the necessary research."

In its press release, Febea also stressed the importance of sun protection products for protection against the risks of the sun.

_{Image by AdoreBeautyNZ from Pixabay}