Standards & schemes
The Vegan Society (UK)
In brief
The Vegan Trademark is the original vegan product certification, run by The Vegan Society (UK) since 1990 — the organisation that coined the word "vegan." Registration is product-by-product against the Society's standards: no animal ingredients, no animal-derived processing aids, and no animal testing by or for the company, with ingredient documentation reviewed by the Society's team. The standards are maintained internally on a rolling basis rather than published as a versioned public document, and the trademark licence is time-limited and renewable. The trademark is used internationally across food, cosmetics, household and textile products, and The Vegan Society maintains a searchable register of trademarked products. As with other dietary-ethics labels, its function is definitional: it gives the word "vegan" on that product a verified meaning. The registration process reviews every ingredient and its supply chain, including processing aids and shared-equipment risks, and companies must re-register products when formulations change. The Society also publishes guidance distinguishing vegan certification from cruelty-free or plant-based marketing terms. The trademark substantiates the vegan status of the registered product only; it does not by itself substantiate health, environmental or broader ethical wording.
Conditional relationships
A relationship does not mean that the standard proves or validates every use of a claim.
Recognition & legal context
No reviewed law references are published.
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