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💚🌎💚Happy Earth Day! 🌍💚🌏

💚🌎💚Happy Earth Day! 🌍💚🌏

Celebrating & Appreciating Earth - Commitment to Sustainability, Diversity & Social Justice

Hello and Happy Earth Day!
 
Ayala Moriel Parfums Celebrates 20 Years of Perfumery & Incense Making this year - and nothing means more to me than making this business as sustainable as possible!

Last month we officially kicked off the celebrations by inviting you to join our fundraiser for the Mediterranean oil spill cleanup. And I'm thrilled to be the bearer of good news: 
The first one is that the beaches are almost clean! 
The second is that in March alone, you helped me fundraise almost $1400 that are donated to two organizations that deliver solutions to the tragedy of bitumen cleanup: Zalul/Mediterreanean Sea People and EcoOcean.

Thanks to an unprecedented volunteer drive that relentlessly cleaned the beaches all along Israel, in what was the largest ecological disaster yet - I'm happy to report that now the beaches are clean enough to enjoy this summer, both to sunbathe on the almost tar-free sand, as well as swim without having an oily film cling to one's skin and choke on toxic fumes. However, the reefs and underwater rocks still need professional and volunteer divers to clear away some bitumen that sank and stuck to rocks. So our work here is not done yet. 

These two organizations we're donating to, have not only actively and effectively mobilized volunteers to clean the beaches, and continue to lead the underwater cleanup - they are also demanding to develop legislation to protect from future oil spills, which is of utmost importance. Therefore, I will continue to donate to  Zalul/Mediterreanean Sea People and EcoOcean this year and beyond, as much as possible. And of course, by choosing my products you are also a partner in these efforts to make the oceans cleaner. 
 
Additionally, I encourage you to donate directly to similar organizations you believe in that protest land, sea and freshwater where you live. And take steps, both big and small, to make life on earth better for all the coming generations.

Here are just some of the things we do at Ayala Moriel Parfums to make the planet more sustainable and diverse, keeping in mind alway social justice, which is an inseparable issue of climate change: 

- Our studio is powered by renewable resource: The Sun.
- We use the best quality, natural and toxin free materials for our products.
- We source as much as possible and available from fair-trade suppliers, organic growers and sustainable crops. 
- We reduce our waste as much possible, in both the manufacturing process and packaging. For instance: bottles are reusable (which is why we haven't used crimped bottles); outer packaging for the bottles is also reusable or made from sustainable resources (i.e.: burlap pouches, and handmade paper made from local paper mulberry by a local paper artisan). We continuously strive to better our packaging to fit our philosophy of taking care of the Earth and reducing waste and unnecessary consumption as much as possible. 
- We use shipping materials take as little space as possible (which ultimately cuts on fuel in shipping), and for orders that require boxes, we are reusing carton boxes and packing paper (in fact, we're still reusing wrapping paper from our big move from Canada to Israel). 
- We go through great lengths to provide you with products that are of high quality, and that can be cherished for a long time.  
- We never pressure anyone to buy more than they need. 
- We grow some of our own plants and ethically forage some plants to make our own extracts. 
- We work and live within walking distance to avoid unnecessary fossil burning.
- Reduce plastic to a minimum in all of our packaging. 

Wherever you are - find your way to make a positive imprint on earth, making your community more sustainable, cleaner, more lively and diverse. Be it eating and shopping local, planting trees each year, or making a commitment to protecting a certain habitat. And wherever you go, leave it in a better shape than you've found it. 

Musk Malabi Fundraising Campaign for Syrian Refugees


Musk Malabi, my fundraiser perfume to support Syrian Refugees, was launched a couple of years ago. There was only marginal interest in the cause, unfortunately, so I was unable to make any substantial contribution to this cause. 

Now that the refugee crisis has come to the forefront of the media - I hope you can help me raise enough funds to help sponsor refugees who are arriving to Canada in these tough times. For every 15mL bottle sold, $50 will be donated to a community-sponsored family; and from each mini bottle, $20 will be donated.

If you are in Canada, I urge you to find a community-sponsorship as well, or initiate one yourself in your community or workplace. According to Canadian law around sponsorship of immigrants, groups such as religious community associations (i.e.: non-profit NGOs) and community based organizations (i.e.: mosques, churches, synagogues, etc.) but also corporations can sponsor refugees, and any group of 5 or more Canadians that can provide a feasible settlement plan for the refugees. That is one way to guarantee the safe asylum of a family fleeing the horrors of the Syrian civil war, and much more meaningful way to invest smaller amounts of charitable money than to support a huge organization in which whatever contribution I could make will just be a drop in the bucket.

Of course, if you wish to donate to larger organizations - there are some that are more effective than others and which will utilize your donations more efficiently. Do your research first. For example, charities that are recommended for maximum help in the ground zero of the Syrian refugee crisis and that have a minimum administrative costs are listed in Charity Intelligence (Canada) and Charity Watchdog (USA).





Below is an excerpt from the original press release (March 2014) and the updates regarding pricing and donations policy.

Inspiring Peace & Harmony with Musk Malabi’s Olfactory Love Triangle
Vancouver, Canada, March 5th, 2014. Get caught in a love triangle with Musk Malabi Ayala Moriel’s newest limited-edition perfume Musk Malabi. Released to coincide with the spring equinox and Persian New Year, Musk Malabi is an intoxicating floral confection. Unabashedly feminine, subtly exotic and hopelessly romantic - the fragrance evokes the sensory experience of a passionate love affair.
Inspired by the traditional Middle Eastern dessert of the same name, Musk Malabi centers itself around rich, milky musk. Having grown up in Israel, the sights, sounds, and smells of the Mediterranean have always been a source of inspiration for Ayala Moriel, the company’s in-house perfumer. “What has always captured my imagination about malabi is its soft, evocative sounding name, and its unique fragrant combination of rosewater and neroli water”, explains Ayala. “Rose and orange blossom are such noble flowers yet oh so different.”

At the heart of the fragrance, neroli and rose come unexpectedly together with musk to create an unusual and mesmerizing triad. Musk plays cupid, pulling all the strings in between and drawing the lovers (rose and neroli) together. Designed to smell as close as possible to deer musk, the botanical musk brings an effortless fluidity to this magnetic fragrance. A company that prides itself on being all-natural and free of animal cruelty, all of Ayala’s fragrances are created using botanical essences.
With spicy notes of cardamom and coriander as the opening act for voluptuous rose and prudent neroli, the top and heart notes rest on a silky bed of atlas cedarwood, botanical musk and Tahitian vanilla. Light-hearted yet mysterious, Musk Malabi is a fragrance unlike any other and will transport one effortlessly to the exotic Middle-East, jet-lag free.
Top notes: Bitter Orange, Cardamom, Coriander, Blood Orange
Heart notes: Turkish Rose, Bulgarian Rose, Tunisian Neroli, Egyptian Orange Blossom
Base notes: Atlas Cedarwood, Botanical Musk Accord, Tahitian Vanilla

Available in eau de parfum 4ml ($69) and 15ml ($180) via www.ayalamoriel.com. For every 15mL bottle sold, $50 will be donated to a community-sponsored family; and from each mini bottle, $20 will be donated. 





Splitting of the Sea


Today is the 7th day of Passover, which commemorates the Splitting of the Sea. The Red Sea, that is. A sea that has probably already lost so much of its wildlife thanks to human greed (too much fishing, too much boat traffic, too much garbage in the oceans, and too many tourists stepping on the coral reefs and taking souvenirs that don't belong to them). 
This is supposed to be a happy day; but instead, I've gotten the news about the oil tanker spill in English Bay.

There is no way to sugar-coat it. There is no silver lining. My heart goes to all the seals (whom I consider my swimming buddies), the whales, the fish, cormorants, seagulls, geese, mallards and other migrating marine birds; the starfish, jellyfish, crabs, seaweed, muscles and even the scratchy barnacles. 

Not to mention - I feel more than a little sorry for myself for needing to abstain from outdoors swimming this summer just because we have an irresponsible government that cares more about money and sucking up to the rich rather than truly investing in sustainable and harmless energy resources (which Canada is blessed with an abundance of).
This post is not intended to make you feel sad, but to make you so angry that me and my fellow Canadians will take to the streets and protest, send Harper and the other criminals in his government massive numbers of emails and letters; and do everything in our power to change the leadership of this country to one that cares about the future of the land, sea, air, wildlife and wellbeing of its citizens. 

"1) The federal government took more than 12 hours to notify the city of Vancouver about the spill. 
2) A special pollution response boat formerly stationed at the now closed Kitsilano Coast Guard base is sitting empty with no crew at Sea Island base in Richmond. It is designed to deal with this type of spill and could have been at the site in 6 minutes had they not closed the station last year.
3) They have recovered close to one tonne of oil, which is likely less than 10% of the total spill.
4) In the best of circumstances, a successful clean up recovers 10-15% of the oil. So, when the government talks about "world class oil spill response" that's what they're aiming for.
5) Bunker fuel is a viscous liquid that is considered toxic and both an acute and chronic health hazard.
6) Bunker fuel is similar in nature to diluted bitumen, which would be transported by the proposed Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline and into more than 400 oil super tankers a year through English Bay.
(quote from Jodi Stark)"

Sorry, this is not related to perfume. Oh, I wish I was able to sell a lot more of my products to have the buying power to save the seas and oceans and keep our blue planet's water clean...  


Update on Sunday, April 12th: It's "only" 2.7 tonne of toxic fuel. And there is now only 6 litres that are not recovered. But nevertheless, very discouraging to see the inefficiency of response and lack of coordination from the authorities. Not to mention - without the forced closure of Kitsilano Coast Guard Station (by the Federal Government, lead by Steven Harper) - this could have been avoided if not dealt with much quicker (AKA within 6 minutes rather than 6 hours!). 

Hanami vs. Tsunami


Ume Blossoms, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

The tragic course of evens in Japan urges me to do something to help out. And I've decided to donate the entire profit of my Hanami perfume (deducing only costs of materials and bottles) to tsunami relief and helping the community in this time of crisis - and more so, re-building afterward.

The reason I chose Hanami perfume specifically, is because it symbolizes for me spring and re-birth, and I pray for Japan to emerge out of this crisis stronger and more beautiful, and have faith that things will fall into place. These tree flowers are pretty and short lived, yet have a very strong statement about life and putting it forward as a sacrifice. Having faith to put forth all ones' strength at the dead of winter in faith that the sun will shine bright again.

The reason why I usually prefer to contribute to the aftermath of such events (as I did in New Orleans as well), is two-fold: First of all, practically - it takes a bit of time to raise money from sales and so it's more realistic for me to contribute to the aftermath of such a disaster, rather than to the immediate rescue efforts. Secondly, while the events are fresh in everyone's mind, there is a lot of interest, which quickly fades away when the next disaster strikes, or whatever newsworthy piece of information that gets us so easily distracted. And the hard work that is required to bring communities back to their feet and support those who suffered from a disaster is a long term project that will need attention and support well beyond the point when it's in the limelight.

I'm still researching Japanese-based organizations that will benefit the most from this fundraising, and will post about the organization(s) once I found the right one(s). For now, I urge you to please help me to help Japan by purchasing Hanami perfume. During the month of March, all Hanami profits will be donated to the chosen organization. In addition, 10% of any of my other Japanese inspired perfumes will benefit this cause (these are: Kinmokusei, Bon Zai, Megumi and Hinoki).

If you know of a community organization that is based in Japan and is directly affected by this disaster or is active in the tsunami relief efforts, please contact me via email.

UPDATE: I will be donating all money from this drive to the Japanese Red Cross. But still will be looking at community organizations for the re-building stages.

Save Bloedel Floral Conservatory


Plumeria (Frangipani), originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

"It was one of those indecisive April days, alternating between cloudy and warm, and pouring rain. For a while, we sought refuge inside the glass dome that housed tropical birds & flowers. There, near the pink parrot that refused to have his pictures taken, I met a blooming frangipanni tree in Vancouver for the first time. You can imagine my happiness: frangipanni is one of my favourite flowers and I have many fond memories associated with its scent. I took with me this single blooming flower that fell off the tree, and savoured it for hours afterward, analyzing its aroma in my head, making notes in my journal as to how to capture its scent. The result is Frangipanni Gloves: a perfume that layers a whiff of frangipanni flowers with the leathery-powdery undertones of suede perfumed gloves of Victorian era. This tropical white floral perfume has an intoxicating yet delicate aroma, sweet and humid, underlined with suede-leather nuances and a hint of spice". (read the rest of the story behind Frangipanni Gloves here)

Proceeds go to the Bloedel Floral Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. It is thanks to this wonderful tropical gem at the heart of our raincity that I was able to find a real, living frangipanni flower for reference. Unfortunately, the City of Vancouver has cut its funding to sustain the conservatory and it is scheduled to close March 1st, 2010. This will leave tens of tropical birds and plants homeless, and is a huge loss for the people of Vancouver!

When you purchase Frangipanni Gloves, you are also helping this cause. Frangipannin Gloves is offered for a limited time only, until March 1st, which is the scheduled date for closing Bloedel Floral Conservatory. For every bottle sold, $50 is donated to Bloedel Floral Conservatory in order to prevent its scheduled shut-down March 1st, 2010. ($30 for mini bottles).
If the fundraiser succeeds, and it will not close - Frangiapnni Gloves will remain in our regular collection and I will continue to donate money to Bloedel, so that we can continue to enjoy the scent of real living frangipanni flowers!
It can be purchased on Etsy or via Ayala Moriel Parfums.

Other ways you can help the Bloedel Floral Conservatory:

There are three ways to donate:

1. Make a donation at any Royal Bank of Canada branch by quoting our name "Friends of the Bloedel Association" and account number 06080 003 1006428.

2. Mail a cheque payable to the Friends of the Bloedel Association

mail to: Friends of the Bloedel Association
3948 West 23rd Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6S 1L2

3. Use our secure PayPal FundRazr page on Facebook by clicking here: http://bit.ly/6GsZWt. If you are a member of Facebook, please publish your comment and donation to your stream. This will help us spread the word about our important cause.


Attend the Rumble in the Jungle Gala, January 30th, 2010

Sign this petition

Join Friends of Bloedel

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