A new report released by The Vegan Society has revealed 97% of British shoppers would like to see more vegan verified cosmetics and toiletries.
The 18-page Vegan Beauty Takeover report looks into consumer perception of how animals are used in the cosmetic and toiletry industry as well as the growing demand for vegan products.
Earlier this year, it was predicted that the global vegan cosmetics industry will be worth a staggering $21.4 billion by the year 2027[1], while 82% of all new vegan items launched in the UK in 2020 came under the beauty category[2].
A survey as part of the report discovered that the majority of cosmetic shoppers (56%) want more vegan-verified products across all cosmetic and toiletry products, while 41% said they’d like to see more vegan shampoo, conditioner and hair styling products. Forty percent are keen to see more vegan toothpaste and mouthwash with 39% saying they would like to see more vegan deodorant options. Facial skincare and body skincare, such as moisturisers, toners and soap bars, also scored highly, with 38% and 37% wanting to see more options in those categories, respectively.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, females aged 45+ showed the strongest demand for vegan options, with 71% of this group stating they would like to see more vegan options across all cosmetic and toiletry products. This mirrors a similar report from 2019 in which 62% of women declared their conscious beauty shopping habits had significantly changed over the last five to 10 years[3].
As part of the survey, shoppers were also asked if they felt confident identifying animal derived ingredients in cosmetics and toiletries. Forty-six percent said they felt confident, 43% said they did not feel confident and 11% said they were unsure as they never check the ingredients. However, when giving the respondents real examples, just 3% of our panel could correctly guess animal derived ingredients which are often found in cosmetics and toiletries.
Encouragingly, 91% of respondents said it was important for brands selling vegan cosmetics and/or toiletries have their vegan products certified by a third-party organisation, such as the Vegan Society’s vegan-certification scheme the Vegan Trademark.
The Vegan Society works to empower consumers to make informed choices about the products they choose to use for health, hygiene, or beauty reasons. We also want to encourage industry to be more transparent about where – or from whom – their ingredients are derived, and to continue to embrace animal-free products and processes.
Nourish London, which is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, has 48 products registered with The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark, including its Kale 3D Cleanse, Anti-Ageing Eye Cream and Bergamot & Cardamom Exfoliating Soap.
Dr Pauline Hili, Founder of Nourish London said: “It is great to see the demand for vegan certified cosmetics and toiletries grow. As a formulator at Nourish London, it means more and more wonderful ingredients become available for us to use and the supply chain becomes increasingly skilled at ensuring products meet the vegan criteria.”
“Certified vegan cosmetics and toiletries ensure people can enjoy using products that support their values - ensuring no animal ingredients are used in the processing or final product. The rigour of the auditing process and the thorough review of our company’s internal compliance mechanisms has been vital for us as a vegan brand. It has made us do what we do even better. External certification by The Vegan Society, who we first registered with in 2012, helps us stay abreast of latest understanding of best practice and it is a crucial part of our growth as a brand.”
Vegan cosmetics and toiletries make up a huge percentage of overall trademark registrations. As of August 2021, the Vegan Trademark has 55,611 products registered, of which 24,117 are cosmetics and toiletries (43%). This includes make up, deodorant, skin moisturisers, perfumes, lipsticks, shampoos, conditioners, soap bars and toothpastes from various high street and luxury brands such as Beauty Kitchen, Faith in Nature, Naturally Tribal Skincare, LUSH and Green People.
To find out more, read the Vegan Beauty Takeover in full. You can also read more about The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark and our full interview with Dr Pauline Hili of Nourish London.
Research was based on a survey titled, “Your view”, conducted on Attest on 20th July 2021. Audience was 1,000 people from the UK who said they purchased cosmetics and toiletries regularly. Data was collected for age, gender and home region.
