BYREDO is a high-end perfumery whose products are available at certain high-end retailers such as Nordstrom. 
As this company operates primarily in the United States, they may be unaware that the term “Gypsy” is actually harmful to the Roma and Romani people. 

The word “Gypsy” has been used to describe the Roma people through centuries of oppression.

In the 15th century, the Catholic Church oppressed and restricted Roma from purchasing land, the Hungarian and Romanian nobles enslaved the Roma, and the German government ordered average citizens to kill gypsies living among them as well.  And this was only the beginning. 

Eastern Europe freed the Roma of slavery in the mid-1800s, but the Scandinavians launched a sterilization programs against them in the 20th century. This is still happening today. 
Nearly 250,000 Roma people were murdered during the Holocaust, and the numbers were subsequently pushed under the rug. 

Europeans use the term “gypsy” as a racial slur throughout the centuries and today to justify the discrimination and persecution of the Roma people.

While life is markedly different in the United States for the Romany people, it is important  to understand that these origins still have a negative impact today for our counterparts overseas. 

Today, the Roma/Romani/Romany are dispersed throughout the globe, and are sometimes referred to as the “unwanted Europeans”.

If BYREDO truly aspires to honor the Romani people, as they say in their description of “Gypsy Water”, the name should be changed to reflect that. 

Thank you for your consideration.