Dear Members,

We are thrilled to share some exciting news and important updates with you!

Special Discount: In light of the seasonally low course uptake, we are offering an exclusive 50% discount on all our courses. This is a rare opportunity, and we encourage you to take advantage of it before it ends on August 31st. This discount helps generate income to fund essential updates and improvements to the academy. Your support is crucial for our growth and our mission to stay up-to-date with industry standards.   Available Courses & Certification Portal

Server Improvements and Moodle App Update: We are implementing significant server upgrades to provide more space and improve performance. However, we have discovered that the Moodle app is currently experiencing issues loading larger courses. We are diligently working to resolve this, but in the meantime, we kindly ask you to access your courses using a computer. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding as we work to enhance your learning experience.

Announcing NPA Business Certification Standards & Application Form: We are excited to introduce the Natural Perfume Academy (NPA) Business Certification Standards. Our certification promotes ethical and sustainable practices across all levels of production and supply in the natural perfumery industry. Certified businesses are categorised based on their adherence to our standards, marked by a color-coded system: Application Form

1. Green Certification: 95-100% Natural Ethical Business

   • NPA Green Circle Business Certification: This level is awarded to businesses that adhere to the highest standards of natural and ethical practices, from raw materials to cleaning products. This certification reflects a deep commitment to environmental and ethical principles.
   • For: Perfumers, Suppliers, Producers
   • Criteria: 95-100% natural ingredients and ethical practices

2. Amber Certification: 75-95% Natural Ethical Business

   • NPA Amber Circle Business Certification: This is the most common certification level, recognizing businesses that have made significant strides towards natural and ethical practices.
   • For: Perfumers, Suppliers, Producers
   • Criteria: 75-95% natural ingredients and ethical practices

3. Yellow Certification: 50-75% Natural Ethical Business

   • NPA Yellow Circle Business Certification: This certification is for businesses in the early stages of their journey towards natural and ethical practices.
   • For: Perfumers, Suppliers, Producers
   • Criteria: 50-75% natural ingredients and ethical practices

Certification Process: Each business undergoes a thorough review to ensure compliance with our standards. Once certified, businesses receive a digital stamp indicating their certification level, which can be displayed on their website or products.

Certified Directory: Our directory features businesses that have met the NPA Certification Standards, marked with a color-coded circle to indicate their certification level.

Apply for Certification: If you are interested in certifying your business with the Natural Perfume Academy, please fill out our application form. Upon approval, you will be categorized according to our color-coded standards and added to our directory. Business Certification and Natural Perfumery Education  FAQ

Certification Costs: The certification fees are nominal and cover the expertise of the “nose” who certifies the products, as well as any required certificates. The fee structure is based on the number of products to be certified, the nature of the business, and its turnover. Fees are payable yearly or bi-yearly, ensuring affordability. Please note that the NPA reserves the right to refuse any applicant without stating a reason.

Thank you for being a valued member of our community. Your continued support helps us grow and maintain high standards in the natural perfumery industry. We look forward to your success and growth with us.

Warm regards,

Ruth
Natural Perfume Academy

Hello everyone,

We want to take a moment to recognize and appreciate your dedication and hard work in our courses. You may have noticed some recent issues related to our course activities, and we want to provide you with an update.

What Happened? We faced a challenge with a third-party tool used on our course platform, which impacted some activities across all devices. To address this and prevent future complications, we're transitioning all activities affected by this tool to Moodle core activities. This change is aimed at enhancing the reliability and stability of our course delivery.

What Does This Mean for You? To ensure your course completion reflects accurately, you'll need to revisit the affected course items. While this might seem inconvenient, it’s a necessary step to maintain the integrity of your learning experience. Rest assured, your actual course performance and grades remain unaffected and intact.

Moving Forward We're committed to preventing such issues in the future and have decided to use only Moodle core plugins going forward. This decision is part of our ongoing effort to ensure that your learning journey is smooth and rewarding.

We deeply appreciate your understanding and patience during this time. Thank you for staying committed to your education with us. If you have any concerns or need assistance, please feel free to reach out.

Together, we're building a stronger and more stable learning environment.

Thank you!

Dear NPA Members,

I'm thrilled to announce that the NPA website is back online! A huge thank you to Ken from Texas for resolving the recent issues. While we're up and running, Letshost is still tidying up the server to ensure everything runs smoothly. 

Exciting News: Our Own Dedicated Server! For the first time in 16 years, NPA will have a server all to itself. This means more space and double the RAM, making our site faster and more efficient than ever. Declan from Letshost is currently moving all non-NPA sites to different servers to free up resources exclusively for us.

Current Status and Ongoing Work:

• The site is now operational, although we're using a lightweight theme, so it may look a bit plain. Rest assured, this doesn't affect the functionality of the courses.
• H5P activities are temporarily unavailable on the mobile app, but this will be fixed soon.
• There may be brief planned outages over the next couple of days as we complete the server migration. Please save your work offline to avoid any disruptions.

Special Offer: To celebrate our improved setup, we're offering a 50% discount on all courses for a limited time. This includes our NPA Business Certification. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your skills at a reduced price! All our available courses are here:  https://npacertification.com/natural-perfumery-courses/ any questions email ruth@naturalperfumeacademy.com

Thank you all for your patience and understanding during this challenging time. Your support means the world to me. NPA is incredibly precious to me, and these past three days have felt like my child was unwell. Knowing that we're on the path to a better, faster, and more reliable site is a huge relief.

Love you all and thank you for being part of the NPA family.

Warm regards, 

Ruth

Dear NPA Members,

We're thrilled to share some fantastic news that will make your experience at the Natural Perfume Academy even better! 

Our Moodle site has been slower than we’d like recently, but we have a plan in motion to fix that—and it’s BIG! Over the next week, we’re moving 50 content-rich pages to a new site. This means our Moodle course will run lighter and faster, with a sleek and efficient plain Boost theme. Imagine a smoother, more streamlined learning experience that lets you focus on what you love: the art of natural perfumery!

**But that’s not all!** We’re also upgrading our payment systems. Say goodbye to PayPal and hello to the seamless convenience of Google Pay and Stripe. These new options will make your transactions quicker and easier than ever.

We know change can be challenging, so we’re asking for your patience during this transition. Our team is working tirelessly to get everything set up. The payoff will be worth it—a more efficient, user-friendly academy experience is just around the corner!

**And now for the best part: we have a HUGE surprise to unveil alongside these improvements.** Trust us, you won’t want to miss this! Stay tuned for the big reveal and get ready to be amazed.

Thank you for being part of our wonderful community. Your support and enthusiasm inspire us every day. We can’t wait to show you what’s coming next!

Warm regards,

The Natural Perfume Academy Team

P.S. Keep an eye on your inbox and the forum for more updates. Exciting times ahead!