Clearwood

Clearwood offers a refined, transparent woody-amber character with soft musky nuances. Think of it as patchouli's elegant cousin - it carries the same creamy warmth and depth, but stripped of the dark, earthy heaviness. The result is a luminous, clean woodiness with impressive tenacity that adds a modern sophistication to any composition.

Origin and Extraction

Clearwood is a biotechnologically produced ingredient created by Firmenich (now dsm-firmenich), first introduced in 2014. Instead of extracting essential oil from patchouli leaves, it starts with the DNA of the patchouli plant and uses fermentation of sugar feedstocks to produce the key molecule patchoulol. This innovative process yields a sustainable alternative that is rich in patchoulol (30-40%) without the complex mix of heavier compounds found in natural patchouli oil.

History and Culture

Clearwood represents a landmark in sustainable perfumery. When Firmenich introduced it in 2014, it demonstrated that biotechnology could produce fragrance ingredients that are not only environmentally friendlier but also olfactively superior in certain ways to their natural counterparts. The molecule became so successful that Firmenich celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2024 with the release of Clearwood PRISMA, an enhanced version. It has since become a staple in modern niche and designer perfumery alike.

Chemistry and Molecular Structure

Clearwood is a complex mixture of sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenols, identified by the CAS numbers 84238-39-1 (EU) and 1450625-49-6 (US). Its primary component is patchoulol (30-40%), alongside alpha-guaiene (15-20%), beta-caryophyllene (5-7.5%), and traces of farnesol. Unlike conventional extraction, these molecules are produced through fermentation - a biotech process that starts from the genetic blueprint of patchouli and yields a cleaner, more defined molecular profile.