We tell you everything you need to know about this new trend in the cosmetics industry

The practice of veganism has become popular over the years. Companies and consumers are taking more and more seriously the rejection of the consumption of animal products and their derivatives. Thus, veganism has transcended the food sector and has also taken over the fashion and beauty industry. Here we tell you everything you need to know about this new trend and tell you how you can become a responsible consumer.

What are vegan cosmetics?

They are the practice that rejects all cosmetic and personal hygiene products of animal origin and that contain their derivatives. Thus, vegan cosmetics cannot be made from animals nor from substances or fluids that come from them. This is why it differs from vegetarian cosmetics, which admit products made from honey or goat's milk. Vegan cosmetics are often confused with other types of initiatives that promote responsible consumption, but that are not strictly vegan.

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Cruelty-free cosmetics

The cruelty-free products are all those that were not tested on animals. Cosmetic laboratories usually test their products, especially in bunnies. This is why most "cruelty-free" product labels have a rabbit and thus can be identified. You could also say that most vegan products are cruelty-free since they do not have any animal-derived ingredients, so you do not need animals to make them. However, it can not be ruled out that some vegan product is tested on animals, although it is very unlikely. For its part, not all cruelty-free products are vegan.

Sustainable cosmetics

Sustainable cosmetics promotes the consumption and manufacture of products that are conscious of the environment in one way or another. In this way, there are brands that, although they allow ingredients of animal origin in their recipes, do not use plastic in the manufacture or packaging of their products. There are also others whose products are made exclusively from organic ingredients. In the spirit of this initiative, shampoo bars have been created, for example. Thus, vegan cosmetics are sustainable in the sense that they protect the fauna, but not all the so-called sustainable cosmetics are vegan. In any case, you will be a responsible consumer.

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Products and brands

There are vegan products that, independently of the brand, will never carry ingredients of animal origin such as coconut oil, aloe vera and almond oil. The opposite occurs with some beauty tools: they are made from animals by definition. This is the case of high-end brushes that are made of marten hair and other animals. Vegan cosmetics can also benefit the consumer's pocket since synthetic hair brushes are usually cheaper. However, it is not necessary to benefit only from vegan products by definition, as there are also brands that have been interested in replacing the ingredients of animal origin with vegetable ingredients to offer the consumer a variety of products. The Chilean companies Natura and Biophilia are an example of this. Among the brands that offer vegan cosmetic products and that are available in Latin American countries are also Lush, Babaria, Seytú, and Deplanta.

The page expoknews.com recommends the app Is it vegan?, that allows scanning the barcode of the products to know if they are vegan and if they are free of cruelty. You can also check the Bunny Free app, from the Beauty without Bunnies collective or the PETALatino page (https://www.peta.org/) to find out which multinational brands are free of animal cruelty.

What comes next?

According to the consultant Lantern, by the year 2020, the market for vegan products will generate a consumption of close to 5,000 million dollars. As the Esthetic World magazine also says, the boom of veganism is unstoppable. This magazine says that there are more and more studies to find "alternatives to assets of animal origin". There are also more and more brands that, if they are not born vegans, offer at least one line of vegan cosmetic products. Thus, this new trend does not represent a threat or a competition for the traditional cosmetics industry, but rather an invitation to transform.

LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Rodríguez Pabón

Translated from "Cosmética vegana: qué es y qué se viene"