The Irish fast-fashion giant has become the first fashion house to be certified vegan by TÜV Rheinland.

Primark is the first recipient of the vegan mark for its clothing, shoes and carrier bags by TÜV Rheinland, a leading international testing and certification service provider.

TÜV Rheinland Vegan Certification is awarded after 3^rd party inspection and thorough product testing to ensure the products are free of all animal-derived materials such as silk, wool, leather, pearl, feather, down, bone, exotic skins or fur.

The firm employs stringent microscopic analysis, fibre analysis or “other appropriate test methods.”

In addition, suppliers of process chemicals are required to furnish a declaration of conformity to prove that their products contain no animal-origin raw materials.

TUV Rheinland certificates are globally recognized certification bodies accredited by a variety of national standards organizations, such as the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) so customers can rest assured that they are indeed buying vegan products.

Conscious buyers

Many people are making conscious decisions to support brands that are cruelty free, sustainable and eco-friendly.

 A Mintel study highlighted that over 57% of British shoppers that comprised two-thirds of 16- to 24-year-olds were conscious of buying ethical products.

“It’s no longer enough for clothing to be priced well or to reference the latest trends. Many young people today are likely to be influenced by the ‘Attenborough’ or ‘Greta’ effects and are becoming far more aware of the negative effects of fast fashion,” said Chana Baram, a retail analyst at Mintel.

This shift in consumer preferences has spurred many fashion houses to launch animal-free and sustainable products and do away with animal skins and other animal embellishments.

Recently,  apparel management company- Global Brands Group (GBG) decided to ban fur from all the brands it owns or licenses.

The move prompted Peta Director Elisa Allen to say that GBG’s decision shows that “the future of fashion is vegan.”

• Read: Vegan fashion brand ditches plastic in favour of apple leather

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