The word vegan was first derived from the word "vegetarian" by Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson in 1944. Donald Watson defined veganism as “veganism is a way of preserving life and excluding all forms of exploitation and cruelty to the animal kingdom”. Veganism, which has become a philosophy of life besides food consumption, is defined as the rejection of products of animal origin. Vegans not only consume food, but also do not use clothes of animal origin such as fur and leather. Vegans, who do not provide consumption of animal origin, prefer clothes with vegetable raw materials such as cotton and linen. However, nowadays, vegan cosmetic products that are not tested on animals are among the most preferred, as well as not using products of animal origin. Veganism includes not only paying attention to the consumption of food, clothing and cosmetics, but also not going to activities such as circuses and zoos. When veganism is examined on its basis, it is possible to say that there is a sustainable world and environmentalism understanding. Let's clear up the question marks about vegan cosmetics, which have gained popularity recently.

 

What is Vegan Cosmetics?

In vegan cosmetics, care is taken that the products do not contain substances derived from animals, however, no experiments are made on animals. Cosmetic products with natural herbal content started in South Korea and spread rapidly to the world. Respecting nature, adopting the principle of being beneficial to people; You can examine the products of the BioBellinda brand, which has Vegan and Ecolabel certificates.

How To Know If A Cosmetic Product Is Vegan?

It is very difficult to understand that a product is a vegan product. In order to understand that the product is vegan, first of all, there is a logo on the product indicating that it has a Vegan Certificate. This logo should be checked. Unfortunately, because the process of obtaining the vegan certificate is long and costly, it is possible to forge the logo. In order to avoid such situations, attention should be paid to the list of components on the label on the product, as well as the logo. When there are components such as honey, snail extract, milk in the ingredient list of the product, it is understood that it is obtained from animals. In addition, we may not understand what the animal substances used in cosmetic products are. Substances such as Collagen, Elastin, Placenta, Liposomes, Guamin, Shellac are some of the substances obtained from animals and used in cosmetic products.

What Are the Terms of the Vegan Certificate?

In order for the company to receive a Vegan Certificate, there are conditions that must be met in 3 areas: product structure, content, general and process requirements. Let's examine the conditions in these areas in order.

The product structure is determined by this conditions;

There are conditions in the content of the product that there are no animal-derived ingredients in by-products such as additives, sweeteners, and that no animal experiments are applied at any stage of the production of the product.

Conditions sought in content requirements;

o  Not including slaughtered animal products, animal skins, animal-based flavors

o Sea animals, milk and dairy products, honey, royal jelly, propolis, beeswax, not to be used,

o It can be listed as not including GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) structured content.

General and Process Requirements;

o The maximum contamination rate should not exceed 1/1000 if there is no animal content in the products produced, and if there is contamination in the produced products due to by-products,

o The company should take the necessary precautions in order not to exceed the maximum contamination rate, and provide the necessary controls during the storage and distribution stages,

o It can be listed as animal testing should be done on the final products.