The next time you’re walking along the beach and come across a grayish, unidentifiable blob, you might not want to ignore it. According to this report, one family in Australia was doing just that when they stumbled across a sample of ambergris worth over $1 million!
So why does this story make the Beauty Brains? Well, it turns out ambergris (or whale vomit) is one of the many natural materials used by perfume companies for creating fragrances. Apparently, one gram of the stuff is worth $20 (US). That’s over $9000 per pound!
The natural material is not used very often anymore because it is extremely rare and it comes from whales (a protected species). Fortunately, crafty chemists have devised suitable synthetic replacements. See, just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s good. Think about that the next time you see advertising telling you differently.
Incidentally, if you are a US citizen and were planning on heading to the beach to seek your blobish fortune, think twice. In the US, possession of ambergris is a violation of the Endangered Species Act of 1978 and could result in significant fines and even some jail time.
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That last bit seems stupid to me. If it washes up on the beach then it should be considered free to grab. No whales were killed to get it. We’re allowed to pick up seashells and driftwood. So why not whale vomit? The whale won’t want it back anyway.
Law makers need to use some common sense.
@Jami: Wouldn’t that give all the whale vomit poachers a built in alibi if they ever got caught peddling ill-gotten ambergris? They could just use the old “I found it on the beach” excuse.
Remember: When ambergris is outlawed, only outlaws will have ambergris.
Forget ambergris, when are they going to outlaw hamburger grease!?!
It’s not good? C’mon! There is definitely more mystery and deepness to wearing whale vomit as a scent, than a chemical substitute. Sorry Mid Brain!
@MB – Obviously with cellphone cameras and stuff the law can just say “you must have visual proof you found it on the beach.” When even homeless people have cellphones there’s no excuse to not be able to take pictures of it on the beach.
Couldn’t you just stage a photo then? It’s like having protected bird feathers. Yes, it’s entirely possible to find molted feathers, but it’s better to be safe and just outlaw them all.
This leads me to a bigger question: How much of an impact does wildharvesting cosmetic ingredients have on the environment? I found a study from UC Davis that examined the effect of the argan oil craze on forests and indigenous people in Morocco, but there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of info on the subject that’s available to someone without a uni library card. By the way, the UCD study found that people were more interested in the health of argan-containing forests overall than before the boom, but focus had shifted to the short-term. Basically, they wanted to protect the argan oil more than the forest itself. Harvesting methods had become much more aggressive and potentially damaging, too.
Maybe I just want too much to believe that 95% of the human population are honest folks whom wouldn’t even think of that. I still think it’s silly to outlaw the stuff that washes up on it’s own. But I think most of the laws in regards to the environment are over regulated to the point of being more harmful then helpful. Like how environmentalists wouldn’t allow the removal of dead, diseased trees here in California, which led to massive wild fires.
@ Curses: I use the CITES appendex, which is pretty useful when a new trend pops up. It’s basically an agreement between governments to ensure that trade in specimens don’t threaten species’ survival. I used this when I was curious about hoodia after Oprah started talking about it. A great book regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine is Tiger Bone and Rhino Horn by Richard Ellis. It’s about how TCM’s use of endangered animal body parts is decimating species.
@ Jami: I get your point but you shouldn’t throw out all conservation because of poor laws. Ambergris has been found in sizes up to 100 lbs, that’s a possible profit of $90,000. With the increasing loss of biodiversity in the ocean, especially among large mammals, we really need to be conservative and discourage any use of a product that can lead to an animal’s death. We’re not the only organisms on this planet and our survival is linked to the biodiversity of the planet.
Argh, sorry about that bad link textblock of death.