Did you know that only very few labels are vegan? One or two readers may mutter a quiet "oh, now he's exaggerating" to themselves. Nevertheless, the fact that most stickers on jars and glass bottles in particular contain animal ingredients may surprise and annoy some of you. After all, you consciously buy vegan food - and then suddenly the packaging is no longer supposed to be vegan.
In this article, I would like to briefly and concisely explain why so few completely vegan labels exist so far and what alternatives there are to conventional label glue. Let's go!
Why are labels often not vegan?
Glass drinks bottles have a fairly animal-friendly and ecological image. Mainly because they can be returned for a deposit and therefore very rarely end up as waste in the environment. But the Label adhesivewhich holds the labels on the bottle for scanning in the return system and is also designed to be easy to remove without leaving any residue, usually consists of casein adhesivesthat come from the milk of cows. For this reason, most labels are not labeled with the vegan lifestyle compatible.
Tip: You can find out more in the linked article, why i live vegan.
What alternatives are there for vegans?
Unfortunately, only very few of the well-known seals for vegan products (e.g. "vegan plus") take the label adhesive used on a product into account in their assessment. As casein is usually only used as a label adhesive on reusable glass bottles, vegans could avoid drinks in glass bottles altogether - this makes it as easy as possible for vegans to choose a vegan product. plastic-free everyday life naturally more difficult. Fortunately, there are also some providers that already offer modern, vegan starch-based glue as a label adhesive. Unfortunately, the use of this synthetic adhesive is only rarely mentioned on the packaging. In addition, it is usually not as flexible and practical to use. For this reason, some animal-friendly suppliers are also switching to fully synthetic alternatives.
The only way to find out whether your favorite beverage company uses a vegan label adhesive is to individually requested or looking for confirmed statements from the respective companies. Over time, however, you get to know your "Pappenheimer" and can choose the vegan drinks bottles over the others.
Tip: In the best case scenario, you can even make it through demand or the Starting a petitionthat a supplier is switching its label adhesive from casein to synthetic plant-based alternatives. (see also Redesign products)
Which companies offer vegan labels?
Perhaps you are a beverage producer yourself and are currently looking for vegan labels. If so, I would of course like to help you - also so that more and more drinks bottles with animal-friendly adhesives under the labels will be on the market in the near future.
Here is the List of some service providersthat offer (among other things or exclusively) vegan labels:
- Flyeralarm
- deinestadtklebt.de
- Papier-Schäfer GmbH & Co. KG
- Asiral
- Türmerleim GmbH
- ASiRAL GmbH & Co. KG
Do you know other providers? Then just write me a comment with your tip and I'll include it.
Which beverage suppliers use vegan labels?
For the sake of completeness, you will of course also find some brands here that advertise with vegan labels or have confirmed their use of plant-based or fully synthetic label adhesives₁. Even if not all of these companies' products use exclusively vegan labels for their products and you should therefore ask again to be on the safe side, I would still like to mention them here:
- Alnatura
- Allos
- Beck's
- Beutelsbacher
- Bionade
- boutique vegan
- byodo
- Club-Mate
- Delinate
- Edora
- Ice flower
- Frog
- FruitTiger
- Gaff
- granini
- Handle
- High C
- LaSelva
- Naturata
- Premium
- Ravenhawk
- Rapunzel
- Rosycheeks
- Schneekoppe
- Vegalino
- VitaVerde
- Voelkel
- Weleda
- Vostok
- Dwarf meadow
Do you know of any other brands that use vegan adhesives for their labels or have you heard anything to the contrary when asked? Feel free to write me a comment at any time so that I can expand or adapt this list.
Vegan labels are (still) a challenge
Would you have guessed that very few labels are vegan? Unfortunately, the use of casein as a binding agent has a long tradition. The protein content of milk was even used for glues and paints before the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, there are ways and means for vegans to get around this problem. I am also sure that more manufacturers will opt for plant-based and fully synthetic alternatives in the near future.
Was I able to help you with this article on vegan labels or do you have any questions on the subject? Then feel free to write me a comment as always!
Be always kind to animals,
PS: Feel free to take a look at the animal welfare blog around! There you can find out, for example, why many Cigarettes often not vegan are. Have fun reading!
References:
₁ Labelident GmbH: Vegan labels: Manufacturer list (19.05.2016), available at https://www.etikettenwissen.de/wiki/Vegane_Etiketten:_Herstellerliste. [14.07.2021].
