Vegan Certifications and Labels

Vegan certifications and labels are logos and trademarks applied to products to indicate that they meet a defined set of vegan or cruelty-free standards. Because many jurisdictions, including the European Union, have no harmonised legal definition of “vegan” for product labelling, independent certification schemes play an important role in helping consumers identify suitable products. The schemes differ in their criteria, verification methods and scope, and labels indicating that a product is cruelty-free (not tested on animals) are distinct from labels indicating that it is vegan (free from animal-derived ingredients).

Vegan labels

Vegan Society Trademark

The Vegan Society Trademark, featuring a sunflower logo, was introduced by the Vegan Society in the United Kingdom in 1990 and is generally described as the first vegan certification scheme. It is used on food, drink, cosmetics, clothing and household products worldwide. Its standards require that:

• the product contains no animal ingredients, by-products or derivatives;
• neither the finished product nor its ingredients have been tested on animals by or on behalf of the manufacturer or supplier;
• genetically modified organisms, if used, must not involve animal genes or animal-derived substances;
• steps are taken to minimise cross-contamination with animal substances.

Like other vegan labels, it does not guarantee that a product is free from traces of allergens such as milk or egg, since products may be made in shared facilities.

V-Label

The V-Label is an international trademark owned by the European Vegetarian Union and administered in many countries by national partner organisations. It is especially common in continental Europe. The label exists in two main variants, one marked vegan and one marked vegetarian, so shoppers need to check which version appears on a product. Products are checked against defined criteria before the label can be used.

Certified Vegan

The Certified Vegan logo is administered by Vegan Action, a non-profit organisation founded in the United States in 1995. It is widely used in North America. Certified products must not contain animal ingredients or by-products, must not be tested on animals, and must not use animal products in processing, such as bone char used in some sugar refining.

Other schemes

Several other organisations operate vegan labels, including the UK Vegetarian Society, which offers a vegan approval mark alongside its vegetarian one, and a number of national vegan and vegetarian societies.

Cruelty-free labels

Leaping Bunny

The Leaping Bunny programme is administered by Cruelty Free International in the UK and Europe, and by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics in the United States and Canada. It certifies cosmetics, personal care and household products. Companies must commit to no animal testing of products or ingredients after a fixed cut-off date, implement a supplier monitoring system, and agree to independent audits.

Leaping Bunny certification concerns animal testing only. Approved products may still contain animal-derived ingredients such as beeswax, honey, lanolin, carmine or milk derivatives, so a Leaping Bunny product is not necessarily vegan.

PETA logos

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) runs the Beauty Without Bunnies programme, which lists companies that state they do not test on animals. It offers two bunny logos:

1. Global Animal Test-Free – the company and its suppliers do not conduct or commission animal tests; products may contain animal-derived ingredients.
2. Global Animal Test-Free and Vegan – in addition, the company’s products contain no animal-derived ingredients.

Companies join the programme by signing a statement of assurance rather than undergoing the independent audits required by Leaping Bunny.

Comparison

Limitations

Vegan labels generally address ingredients and testing but not other issues such as packaging, palm oil sourcing, or whether a parent company sells non-vegan products. Many vegan products carry no certification at all, because certification involves fees and administration, so reading ingredient lists remains useful (see hidden animal ingredients). Terms such as “plant-based” on packaging are not certifications and do not always mean a product is vegan (see plant-based vs vegan). Wine and beer are rarely labelled for fining agents, which makes certification particularly useful in that area (see vegan wine and beer).

See also

• Cruelty-Free Cosmetics
• Vegan Fashion
• How to Go Vegan