Are animal products used in the manufacturing of perfumes.

Although many ingredients can be made synthetically to represent the real ingredient, many perfumeries and manufacturers today, prefer the original components, which can only be derived from animals. These ingredients are obtained by often inhumane ways and methods being applied, and the animals being beaten to produce the musk scent for example, after which it is cruelly scraped from their organs and used in the manufacturing process. Many modern day perfumes contain synthetic aromas, which are commonly synthesized from petroleum distillates. A recent study found that the hazardous and potentially harmful chemicals, synthetic musk and phthalates used in the manufacture of perfumes could have detrimental effects on the ecosystem and our skin, due to the repeated exposure. Unfortunately, many commercial fragrances do still contain animal products like musks, and are often advertised as "natural products" on the labelling. Some of the animal products in use in various aromatic applications are listed hereafter:

• Ambergris - is obtained from whale instestine and used as a fixative in perfumes.
• Caprylic Acid - which is a liquid fatty acid obtained from goat or cow’s milk.
• Castoreum - is a creamy substance with an intense aroma and obtained from the beaver or muskrat’s genitalia, and used as a fixative in perfumes.
• Civet - is also used as a fixative in perfumes and obtained by painfully carving it out from the civet cats glands, situated close to the genitalia.
• Musk and musk oil - which is a secretion obtained via a painfully invasive method from the genitalia of the musk deer, muskrat, beaver, civet cat and otter, and often under extremely cruel conditions. The musky scent is used to produce the musk aroma in perfumes and fragrances.
• Vitamin A - is obtained from the liver oil of fish and sharks, and utilised in various cosmetics and perfumes.