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Aug 4, 2009
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Sweet-scented suncream kicks up trademark stink

By
AFP
Published
Aug 4, 2009

MARSEILLE, France, Aug 4, 2009 (AFP) - The mythical Monoi oil of Tahiti, associated with the beauty of Polynesian women and prized in suncream the world over, is kicking up a trademark stink among the island's producers.


The ingredients used in Monoi are mixed, a blend of coconut oil, sandalwood, spearmint, jasmine, ginger root and other herbs - Photo: AFP/File/Eric Feferberg

Ever since Paul Gauguin's paintings brought the magic of Tahiti into the boudoirs of the wider West, the unique blend of coconut oil and tiare flowers used to moisturise skin and hair has acquired global miracle allure.

So much so that producers in Tahiti, part of French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean, obtained their equivalent of champagne status with an official Appellation d'Origine trademark label from French authorities in 1992.

Global exports of the oil, to everywhere from Australia to the US, doubled between 1998 and 2007, and the defenders of the trademark have not taken kindly to what they say is rogue use of the stamp by one French distributor.

In fact, the association of producers jealously guarding their hard-won seal has been fighting a court battle since 2006, with judges in French Polynesia trying to rule on a 1.35-million-euro (1.92 million dollars) damages case.

Global sales of the oil have slipped, according to Tahiti official statistics, since the row first broke out and the legal dispute faces its latest twist with a decision in the court case expected later this year.

Amid fast-growing demand, monoi oil made by the Tevi cosmetics laboratory went on sale in Carrefour hypermarkets in France in 2006 -- at which point the association of AOC producers accused Tevi of counterfeit labelling.

Carrefour stopped distributing the Tevi oil this year, citing a lack of sales -- a charge hotly denied by Tevi's Luc Peeters, based in France, who said the GIMT cartel had "applied pressure on shops to withdraw the product line."

Association director Eric Vaxelaire hit back saying "Tevi are doing down the appellation but leaning on it at the same time" and pointing out that there is no "monoi mafia" because all producers from the area are free to join the club.

Yves Touboul, head of distribution company Pacific South, which handles around 60 percent of monoi oil exports from Tahiti and is based near Marseille in southern France, said: "Do we have a right to confuse the consumer?"

But Tevi director Gerard Brigant in Tahiti said the real reason for the dispute is that his company's "innovative" products, not using preservatives or chemical colourants, have led to falling sales among GIMT members.

Touboul said sales have been slipping since the end of 2008 but blamed the decline on the economic crisis rather than increased competition from Tevi.

Tevi meanwhile is losing no time in its marketing drive and, without waiting for the court ruling, has rolled out a new "bio" version which uses cold drying of the coconut kernel instead of the more common heat treatment.

And as the tourism season peaks in the northern hemisphere and the economic crisis continues, tensions in the dispute, ironically over an oil reputed to have soothing properties, look set to escalate in the coming months.by Pierre Pratabuy

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