The French version of the Terms of use – Buying guide is the legally binding version. In the event of any differences or inconsistencies between language versions, the French text shall prevail: Conditions d’utilisation – Guide d’achat
The Purchasing Guide is published by Geert De Vuyst, “Entreprise individuelle”, registered under SIRET number 44455517100057, 2 Rue d’Austerlitz, 31000 Toulouse, France (hereinafter referred to as the “Publisher”).
These Terms of Use describe how the Purchasing Guide operates, the information Users may expect from it, and the conditions under which it may be used.
These Terms of Use supplement the General Terms and Conditions of the Publisher’s websites. The General Terms and Conditions remain fully applicable to the use of the Purchasing Guide. Where provisions specifically concern the Purchasing Guide, these Terms of Use take precedence.
By accepting these Terms of Use, the User agrees to the conditions governing the use of the Purchasing Guide.
1. About the Purchasing Guide
The Purchasing Guide is an information resource concerning producers and brands of essential oils and other plant extracts commonly used in aromatherapy.
The Purchasing Guide includes a brand directory. Some brands have a documented profile containing information about their products, quality policy, origins and sourcing practices, social and environmental responsibility, certifications, and documented contributions to selected Sustainable Development Goals.
Each documented profile follows the same set of questions, making it easier for Users to consult and compare information about different brands.
2. Access and free use
The brand directory and its associated basic information are freely accessible without an Account.
To view a documented brand profile, the User must have an Account and accept these Terms of Use.
The User may use an existing Account on one of the Publisher’s websites or create a new Account free of charge. The provisions concerning Accounts in the General Terms and Conditions remain applicable.
The Purchasing Guide is provided free of charge. No Aroma Plus membership or purchase on the Publisher’s websites is required.
The respective terms governing other products, memberships, and services offered through the Publisher’s websites remain applicable.
3. Inclusion of brands in the Purchasing Guide
The Publisher determines which brands are included in the Purchasing Guide. Brands may not add themselves to the brand directory without the Publisher’s permission.
A brand may have one of the following three statuses:
- Listed: the brand appears in the directory with its basic information but does not have a published documented profile.
- In preparation: a documented profile is being prepared but has not yet been published.
- Documented: the brand has a published profile containing answers to the Purchasing Guide’s questions.
The basic information includes the brand name, supplier, country, and website.
The Publisher may refuse a request for inclusion and may correct or remove individual answers, profiles, or entire listings, particularly where there are reasons to believe that the information is inaccurate or misleading.
The absence of a documented profile, or the fact that a brand is not included in the Purchasing Guide, does not constitute a value judgement about that brand.
4. Documented profiles
Once a brand has been admitted to the Purchasing Guide, an authorised representative of that brand may create and manage a documented profile.
The representative answers a fixed set of questions concerning product identification and traceability, quality policy, origins and sourcing practices, social and environmental responsibility, certifications, and documented contributions to selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The representative may publish and update answers directly, without prior review or approval by the Publisher.
Publication of an answer does not mean that the Publisher has reviewed, validated, or approved the information.
5. Declarations and validation
Each answered item in a documented profile receives one of the following three validation statuses:
- Brand declaration: the information was provided by the brand and has not been validated by the Publisher. This is the initial status of every answer.
- Validated: the answer has received a positive result through the Publisher’s optional validation service.
- No sources provided: the answer was submitted for optional validation, but no sources were provided.
Validation applies exclusively to individual answers, not to an entire brand or brand profile. A documented profile may therefore contain answers with different validation statuses.
When a brand modifies a previously validated answer, that answer reverts to the status “Brand declaration” until the modified information has been validated again.
For certain questions, the brand must select a descriptive level, such as “Certified”, “Documented”, “Brand declaration”, or “Not documented”. This level forms part of the brand’s answer and is separate from the validation status.
Questions that have not yet been answered are displayed under “Not yet documented”.
The indication “x of y documented” shows only how many questions the brand has answered and does not constitute a score or quality assessment.
Validation does not constitute a recommendation, product certification, or quality guarantee by the Publisher.
6. Certifications and sources
Brands may provide information about certifications and other sources, such as the title, source reference, and, where available, a URL.
The Publisher records information about these sources but does not store the sources themselves or provide copies for download.
The Publisher does not issue the listed certifications and does not guarantee their authenticity, validity, or continued validity.
7. Display and ordering of brands
Brands with a published documented profile are displayed first, followed by brands without a published profile. Within each group, brands are arranged alphabetically by name.
This order does not constitute a ranking based on quality, reliability, sustainability, or product performance.
Brands cannot pay for a higher position in the Purchasing Guide.
8. Fees and independence
Brands do not pay to be included in the Purchasing Guide or to publish a documented profile.
Brands may request optional validation for a fee. Payment does not guarantee a positive validation result.
Validation is carried out independently of any other commercial relationship between the Publisher and the brand concerned.
The Publisher does not sell products from listed brands and does not receive commissions on purchases made by Users.
9. No recommendations and currency of information
The inclusion of a brand, publication of a documented profile, or validation of an individual answer does not constitute a recommendation, endorsement, or certification by the Publisher.
The Purchasing Guide does not assign overall scores or quality ratings to brands.
Information may change or become outdated. The Publisher does not guarantee that all information is complete, accurate, or up to date.
Where applicable, the validation date is displayed for individual answers.
Users should verify important information directly with the brand concerned before relying on it.
10. Purchase and use of products
The Purchasing Guide is not an online store. The Publisher does not sell products through the Purchasing Guide and is not involved in transactions between Users and brands.
When a User purchases a product from a brand or supplier listed in the Purchasing Guide, the contract is concluded exclusively between the User and the seller. The Publisher is not a party to that contract.
The Publisher does not guarantee that a product meets the User’s individual needs or expectations and is not responsible for the composition, quality, safety, effectiveness, or suitability of products offered by listed brands or suppliers.
The provisions concerning “Medical liability” in the General Terms and Conditions apply in full to the Purchasing Guide.
11. Likes
Users with an Account may give a brand a like to indicate that they appreciate it. A like may be removed at any time.
Likes reflect only Users’ preferences. They do not constitute quality judgements or recommendations by the Publisher and do not affect the ordering of brands or the validation of answers.
The Publisher may remove likes in cases of unusually frequent or potentially abusive activity. Repeated abuse may result in the closure of an Account.
12. Permitted use and intellectual property
The content of the Purchasing Guide is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND 4.0).
This licence permits copying, sharing, distributing, and republishing all or part of the content for both non-commercial and commercial purposes.
When reusing the content, the User must credit the Publisher as the source, refer to the original publication, and include a link to the applicable Creative Commons licence.
Distribution of translations, rewrites, or other modified versions of the content is not permitted without separate permission from the Publisher. Technical modifications permitted under the licence remain allowed.
These provisions do not restrict uses expressly permitted by applicable law.
13. Availability and changes
The Publisher may add, update, correct, or remove information in the Purchasing Guide, modify its features, or discontinue the service.
The Publisher endeavours to ensure the best possible availability but does not guarantee uninterrupted access.
When these Terms of Use are amended, the new version is published together with its effective date.
The User must accept the amended Terms of Use before access to documented brand profiles is granted again.
14. Personal data and privacy
To manage access to the Purchasing Guide, the Publisher records the date on which the User accepted the Terms of Use and the version accepted.
When a User gives likes, the Publisher also records which brands received those likes.
The Privacy Policy describes how personal data is processed, how long it is retained, and how Users may exercise their rights.
15. Responsibility and liability
Answers provided by brands remain declarations made by those brands. Even when an answer has undergone optional validation, the brand concerned remains the provider of the underlying information.
The User remains responsible for assessing the information and deciding whether a product or supplier meets their requirements.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Publisher is not liable for damage arising from inaccurate or outdated information provided by brands, the purchase or use of products from listed brands or suppliers, transactions with third-party sellers, or interruptions in the availability of the Purchasing Guide.
Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes or limits liability where doing so is prohibited by law. Nor do these provisions affect the mandatory rights enjoyed by Users under applicable consumer protection legislation.
16. Questions and complaints
For questions about the Purchasing Guide, to report errors, or to submit a complaint, Users may contact the Publisher at:
France: hello [at] geertdevuyst.fr
Belgium and the Netherlands: hello [at] geertdevuyst.be
The Publisher welcomes factual corrections and investigates reported inaccuracies.
17. Applicable law and disputes
These Terms of Use are governed by French law.
In the event of a dispute concerning the Purchasing Guide, the User and the Publisher agree to first seek an amicable solution through direct dialogue, without prejudice to the legal rights of either party.
Draft version: 26 October 2026