52 LIFESTYLE COSMETICS


Safety testing: how vegan are your products?


n Angela Davies – MSL Solution Providers, UK


According to Google trends, interest in ‘veganism’ increased seven-fold in the last five years, 2014 and 2019,1


and it does not


appear to be slowing down any time soon. In fact, it is predicted that by 2040, only 40% of the global population will be consuming meat, with 35% consuming ‘clean’ (lab) meat and 25% vegan meat replacements.2 This is a trend that is sweeping the globe. The number of vegans in the US, for example, grew by 600% from nearly four million in 2014 to 19.6 million in 2017,3 while across the pond the figure quadrupled between 2014 and 2019 to make 600,000 vegans, or 1.16% of the Great British population. Regardless of motivations, the number of consumers adopting vegetarian or vegan lifestyles is increasing. However, it is not only their intention to eat more plant-based food. The vegan trend is permeating other industries too. For example, the demand for vegan cleaning products has rocketed as consumers that are cutting down or eliminating animal produce from their diets, also appear to be focussing on other areas of their lives where they can switch to vegan options.4 Another such area is, of course, cosmetics and personal care. People are becoming much more aware of what is going into the products that they buy and, over the past few years, have become just as mindful of what they put onto their bodies as what they put into it. The rise of veganism has prompted a real shift in behavior when it comes to the beauty sphere, resulting in a more ethically conscious consumer.


A growing movement With a 20% increase in searches for ‘vegan make-up’ from 2017 to 2018,5


and cruelty-


free certified beauty products growing by 18% in 2018, the demand for animal-free beauty and cosmetic products has been growing phenomenally over the past few years. In fact, according to recent research,6 67% of people consider whether an item is vegan or vegetarian to be the most important when shopping for skin care


PERSONAL CARE NORTH AMERICA


products. The same study found that, while just 9% admitted to only buying vegan products, 47% said that they do so more than they used to, making this by far the most popular rising trend in beauty. Interestingly, of the 56% of women who purchase vegan products, almost two fifths (39%) do not actually identify as vegan themselves. Ultimately, the study highlighted a shift in consumer lifestyle: the majority of women (62%) professed that their conscious beauty shopping habits had significantly changed over the last five to 10 years.


It is clear then, that vegan cosmetics and personal care products are becoming ever more popular with a growing number of ethically conscious consumers. This seismic shift in consumer behavior has led to an explosion of new vegan beauty products being launched and marketed as such. Not only is there an increasingly wider choice available, but they are more easily accessible than ever. Once confined to specialist health shops, they can now be found on the high street, in supermarkets or online. Globally, there has been a 175%


increase in cosmetics launches over the past five years, and in the UK, Google searches for ‘vegan beauty’ have doubled every year since 2012.7


With a trend that shows no sign of slowing down, R&D teams


worldwide are constantly innovating and experimenting to keep up with demand. With growing competition in this new ‘vegan territory’, brands are striving to achieve the same standards in their vegan and non-vegan portfolio. The result is sophisticated formulations using only vegan-friendly and cruelty-free ingredients, but which also deliver on performance. A win-win for consumers, brands – and vegan ethics. Or so you might think.


Efficacy and safety testing procedures In fact, although products are manufactured without any animal derived ingredients, they are being tested, in laboratories, using standard culture media and neutralizers. The majority of which are derived from animal by-products. While most people are aware of animal testing (which, of course, is banned in over 40 countries worldwide), the majority of consumers, even educated ones, have little understanding of microbiology and the mandatory testing that is carried out on the products they use every day. This testing is critical both to assure the safety of products and to meet the legal requirements – the EU Cosmetic Regulation in Europe and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA),


March 2020


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