The Vegan Society guides industry with labeling and verification advice to meet accelerating demand

12 Oct 2022 --- The Vegan Society is outlining the requirements for labeling and selling products featuring vegan ingredients in its report, Unlock the Vegan Beauty Market, Leave the Animals Out of Cosmetics. The organization underscores a need to prevent greenwashing, increase consumer trust and verify products, while highlighting the rising opportunities due to the demand for vegan products.

“This new whitepaper proves that no industry is moving faster than vegan beauty,” says Katie Grant, B2B marketing officer at The Vegan Society.

“A combination of the rise in the number of vegans globally, conscious beauty trends and the public’s negative perception of animal testing mean that it’s an exciting time for both vegan shoppers and vegan beauty brands and businesses,” she asserts.

The report predicts the vegan cosmetics industry to be worth US$21.4 billion by 2027. Of more than 60,000 products registered with the Vegan Trademark globally, 45% of all registrations belong to the cosmetics and toiletries category.

The report predicts the vegan cosmetics industry to be worth US$21.4 billion by 2027.Certification for trust
As part of The Vegan Society’s Vegan Beauty takeover report, the charity asked consumers how important it was for brands selling vegan cosmetics or toiletries to have their vegan products certified by a third-party organization.

Additionally, 90.8% of UK shoppers thought it was important for brands to have their vegan products certified by a third party.

“Brands need to be careful with their claims. While veganism can be a part of a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle, it does not mean that vegan products are more sustainable. Companies found to be ‘greenwashing’ – over-stating the sustainability of their product and its benefits to the environment – can damage their customers’ trust,” the charity underpins.

Defining vegan
The Vegan Society clarifies that a lack of Regulation around terminology and the use of scientific terms for ingredients means that even when shoppers check the ingredient list before making a purchase, they may lack the knowledge which will help them make an informed choice.

“At The Vegan Society, we understand the word ‘animal’ to refer to the entire animal kingdom, which is all vertebrates and all multicellular invertebrates,” it states.

“Many commonly used ingredients are derived from animals that aren’t widely known to the public; these include collagen taken from the bones, skin, ligaments and tissues of cows, lanolin from sheep wool and retinol, which is sourced from multiple animals.”

Verification and trademarks
As part of the Vegan Trademark’s verification process, the development and manufacture of the product, and its ingredients, must not involve or have involved testing of any sort on animals conducted at the initiative of the company or on its behalf or by parties over whom the company has effective control.

The organization has also registered alternative tests and laboratories to help brands with product safety testing. Advanced Development and Safety Laboratories’ Vegan Colony Count test and XCellR8’s Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay – OECD Test Guideline 441c have registered their vegan tests with the Vegan Trademark.The report found that 90.8% of UK shoppers thought it was important for brands to have their vegan products certified by a third party.

“Using a Vegan Trademark registered lab test simplifies the checking process when the individual products go through the registration process as well since the tests have been pre-certified for use,” the report states.

The non-profit created the Vegan Trademark in 1990 to improve product labeling, helping provide evidence of a product’s vegan claim and clarity to consumers and is now working with brands like Tropic, ESPA, OPI Nails, Primark, Lush Cosmetics, The Body Shop and Huda Beauty.

The Vegan Trademark allows consumers to be confident in their purchases, knowing that they meet standards that exclude both in-development and post-market animal testing and ensure the product does not include any animal products or by-products in the ingredients list.

Rising market interest
According to Innova Market Insights, the use of vegan claims in personal care launches increased globally, featuring a +36% year-over-year growth when comparing 2021 and 2020 launches.

The whitepaper features Google trends data to highlight the market interest in vegan beauty. “There are an estimated 79 million vegans across the world, so it is no surprise that there is a high demand for vegan cosmetics and toiletries as people shop for products in keeping with their personal beliefs.”

“However, research also indicates that it is non-vegan consumers that are also driving this trend, with over half of British women buying vegan products despite a third of these consumers not being vegan,” the report continues.

Edited by Radhika Sikaria

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