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Throughout the last decade, vegan products have become more present in our lives and consumers are looking for non-food products in line with their way of life and without any animal ingredients. This desire for vegan products also concerns personal care and household products.
Veganism can be defined as a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.
ANIMAL ORIGIN INGREDIENTS AND ANIMAL TESTING IN COSMETICS
Some cosmetic ingredients are from animal origin like honey, lanolin, carmine or propolis. There are few perfumery ingredients with animal origins: civet, castoreum or beeswax. However, these are less used in fragrances.
In the European Union, a strict ban of animal testing for cosmetics has been in place since 2003. Animal testing is also forbidden for cosmetics raw materials since 2009. Moreover, alternative methods have to be used and prioritized in the safety assessment of substances as part of REACH Regulation. Animal testing are only used as last resort and if there is no alternative to assess the health effects of the substance like for carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and reprotoxicity.
WHAT IS A VEGAN COSMETIC?
A vegan cosmetic product is first a cosmetic product. Thus, it must be compliant with the regulations in place (i.e. the EU Cosmetic Regulation) and with the same quality and safety requirements to be placed on the market.
There is currently no international or national definition of a vegan cosmetic product. A product can be labelled “suitable for vegan” if this claim follows the common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products (legal compliance, truthfulness, evidential support…).
Some labels and certifications have been created to build a framework for vegan products. They are independent and not mandatory. However, they allow consumers to choose vegan products that follow a specific guideline defined by the certification itself.
VEGAN CERTIFICATIONS
- Vegan Society
Vegan Society is an internationally acknowledged non-profit association founded in 1944 in the United Kingdom. This label is applicable to cosmetics, detergents and household products. To be compliant and to obtain the Vegan Society label, products must not contain any raw materials from animal origin and/or tested on animals. Ingredients tested by third-parties are authorized in the final product.
- Certified Vegan
Certified Vegan was created by the non-profit association Vegan Awareness Foundation. It can be delivered to product at a worldwide level for companies based in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The main criteria are the absence of animal origin ingredients and of animal origin GMOs in the product. Other requirements are linked with the manufacturing of the product to minimize cross-contamination.
- V-Label
V-label was created by the European Vegetarian Union in 1996 and certifies food product and cosmetics. There are two levels of certification for food products: vegan and vegetarian. In order to obtain this label, products must not contain any animal origin raw materials or GMOs. Some criteria are also applied to the manufacturing process; i.e. non-vegan substances must not be present even if they are unintentional. The list of V-label certified products is available on their website.
- Eve Vegan
Eve Vegan (Expertise Végane Europe) was created by the French association Vegan France and certifies food products, cosmetics and fashion products. Their requirements are on the product itself and its ingredients as well as on the manufacturing process and the conditioning. Products must not contain animal origin raw materials and technical agents. The wrapping and packaging must also be without substances of animal origin. The list of Eve vegan certified products is available on their website.
- Leaping Bunny
Leaping Bunny program is a Cruelty Free certification created in the 1990’s which is internationally acknowledged. Cosmetics, detergents and household products may be certified if they have not been tested on animals and are compliant with Leaping Bunny guidelines (no animal testing in the supply chain, external audit…). However, this certification doesn’t ensure the absence of animal origin raw materials in the product.
- Cruelty Free and Vegan
Cruelty Free and Vegan was created by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and certifies the brand itself and its products. This certification ensures the absence of animal origin ingredients in the product and in its wrapping. Products must not have been tested on animals and therefore cannot be placed on the market in countries where animal testing for products is still authorized.
- One Voice
This certification was created by the One Voice association in 2011 and certifies the brand itself and its products. They can be food products, cosmetics or detergents. As the absence of animal testing is one key criteria, brands selling their products in countries where animal testing products is still authorized cannot be certified. The other key requirement is the absence of animal origin ingredients in the products with the exemption of honey and beeswax.
VEGAN FRAGRANCES AT SOZIO
At Sozio we can propose fragrances without animal origin ingredients and compliant with the previous Vegan labels. As requested in the EU Cosmetic Regulation, none of our fragrances are tested on animals. Finally, we provide our own Vegan certificate for each of our fragrances with no animal origin raw materials and support our customers in their Vegan certification journey.
FOLLOW UP
If you need any further information about Vegan certifications, please reach out to us via email: regulatory@jesozio.com or through your designated Sales Representative.
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