The maison is committed to developing unique extraction and separation techniques to obtain active ingredients from plants as it believes that each of these organisms – or rather each molecule – is different and hence it is essential to apply specific methods to obtain the best results.

Take for instance its partnership with local farmer Deborah Courron to cultivate both the solidago and anthyllis plants in the Southern French Alps (pictured) with the greatest respect for nature, performing the weed control entirely by hand. The harvesting process is executed in the traditional method by using trays (not machines) to protect the natural qualities of these two plants. The two active ingredients, anthyllis extract and solidago extract, are present in the Sublimage skincare line.

Chanel believes that the active ingredients in each plant it cultivates – including the quintessential camellia (pictured) which is grown sans chemical products and harvested by hand – require a targeted technique in order to maintain the purity of its benefits.

The research team identifies high-potential molecules within the selected plants and employs tailored techniques that are optimised according to the principles of green chemistry a.k.a sustainable chemistry. In essence, green chemistry is said to be the design of chemical products and processes – from the product design to its disposal – that minimise or eliminate the production of harmful substances.

Known as open-sky laboratories, these facilitate the sustainable growth of plants as well as the studies on rare ingredients, acting as centres for botanical research, cultivation and experimentation of exclusively natural ingredients. This further cements Chanel Beauty’s commitment to exemplary sourcing on the environmental and territorial levels.

Three other open-sky laboratories followed that of the first one in Madagascar: two in France and another in Costa Rica (pictured). These laboratories are located in different climatic areas around the world for greater and more varied access to biodiversity, with each containing species that represent the raw materials that fuel the production of active ingredients.

Alongside its involvement in establishing plantations in Madagascar, the brand is also contributing to fundamental Madagascan research by funding several theses on the endemic vanilla of Madagascar (pictured). Additionally, Chanel Beauty is committed to agricultural research through an agroforestry reforestation program in the northern region of Ambanja, aiming to protect the soils and ecosystems in view of future climate change.

The year 2019 also saw the launch of the design and operation of an experimental agroecological farm with the purpose of testing and promoting cultivation techniques to address the determined territorial challenges such as soil erosion, water provision, food autonomy, and adaptation to climate change.

Last September, Chanel launched an immersive botanical exhibition known as the La Beaute se Cultive (‘Cultivating Beauty’ in French) at Paris’ expansive Natural History Museum’s Mineralogy Gallery which is situated on the grounds of a 17th-century royal garden of medicinal plants. Besides showcasing the rare plants used in its skincare potions, the exhibit also focused on the sustainable efforts in growing and cultivating the ingredients, as well as other rare plants from its botanical collections.