Intertek Vegan Mark enables retailers, brands, and manufacturers to promote their products as being free of materials of animal origin, and can be used to help consumers make educated decisions about the fashion products they purchase.
Veganism has increased in popularity as a lifestyle in recent years. More than just what people choose to eat, veganism proliferates in the fashion world as well, with clothes, shoes, and accessories increasingly being made without fur, leather, wool, or silk.
It can be difficult to verify a vegan product claim as the product's primary materials may not be of animal origin, yet contain additives such as glues and dyes that are derived from animals or animal by-products (e.g. beeswax) and not considered vegan. Some of the vegan mark programs in the market are backed up by supplier declarations only.
Intertek Vegan Mark Program
To answer the market demand for a trustworthy program to verify vegan claims, Intertek has developed the Intertek Vegan Mark Program that enables apparel, footwear, and accessories products retailers, brands, and manufacturers to ensure that their vegan products are free of materials of animal origin while helping end consumers make an educated decision about the fashion products they purchase.
How Does It Work?
The program includes an additional step of testing on top of supplier declarations, providing added assurance that the products concerned are synthetic or use plant-derived materials. The program's testing protocols cover:
- Declaration by applicant
- Screening of animal fiber
- Screening of synthetic material by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
- Chemical test on animal tracer
Successful applicants can obtain the Intertek Vegan Mark for their apparel, footwear, and accessories products to verify vegan claims.
What Are Your Benefits?
- Verification of vegan claims through a scientific method
- Increased traceability and transparency of vegan claims
- Intertek Vegan Mark trade dressing available for use on multiple channels to communicate vegan origin, backed by Intertek’s recognizable Mark of Trust
- Product information is accessible to end consumers online via the Intertek Vegan Mark Directory through a unique QR code