What is a ‘Fragrance Free’ Zone ?

Fragrance Free zones and buildings are areas where people are prohibited from wearing or using any product that contains a scent. The list of banned items includes cologne, aftershave, air fresheners, incense, and anything else designed to produce an odor, even if the odor the product produces is marketed as a ‘good’ one. Also banned are a wide range of products whose primary purpose is not to produce a scent but that are sold in scented versions. Examples of such items include: hair-spray, laundry and hand soap, hand lotions, fabric softener, shampoo and conditioners, make-up, cleaning products, and many, many more.

It is not enough to merely avoid applying or using these products inside the fragrance free area you enter. If you are going to be entering a fragrance free area anytime during the day, then you must not use any scented products anytime that day. Using a scented conditioner after a morning shower and then going to a fragrance free doctor’s office in the afternoon is a ‘No-No’.

Is This ‘Fragrance Free’ Stuff a Bit ‘Over The Top’ ?

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During recent renovations, S.C. Johnson and Son gave a choice to its employees, some of whom have asthma and environmental allergies: they could work from home or transfer to a desk elsewhere within the Brantford, Ontario headquarters. The idea was to prevent susceptible staff from being exposed to the dust, paint fumes and other irritants that would be in the air. The company, makers of well-known household products such as Ziploc, Windex, Shout, Pledge and Raid, is known to be accommodating, especially when it comes to employees’ health.

S.C. Johnson and Son has nursing staff available to each of its two manufacturing plants and two sales offices across the country. There is a central medical centre that can refer employees to specialists, and will make recommendations to the employee’s manager and the human resource team on how to best accommodate the person’s needs. For example, if a worker in a manufacturing plant has a sensitivity to a fragrance, the company might move that person to a different production line. The company cafeteria also has clear signs and menus to protect people with food allergies.

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Renfrew County’s offices are becoming scent free.

Recently, Bruce Beakley, human resources director, told the finance and administration committee the administration building is working towards scent-free workplace.

Employees will be encouraged to curb the use of scented personal care products such as perfumes, colognes and shampoos whenever possible at the work site or when attending meetings.

“The intent of this initiative is to assist those affected by strong scents within the County of Renfrew Administration Building,” he said.

This came out of the county’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee, which developed the policy after a number of staff identified it as a problem.

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