Veganism Craze
Veganism Craze
  • reporter Park Jee-won
  • 승인 2019.06.13 13:03
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▲Animal testing on rabbit
▲Animal testing on rabbit

 

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet,   and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A follower of this   diet or the philosophy is known as a “vegan”. Although veganism used to be recognized as a vegetarian diet only, recently, the realm of veganism has expanded beyond the cuisine. The so-called “using veganism” is in the spotlight, which is avoiding the use of animal ingredients in clothing and cosmetics. Analysts explain the reason behind such trends is the increase in consumers’ interest in ethical consumption, such as animal abuse and environmental problems, that are part of the manufacturing process. 
Vegan cosmetics refer to products made of vegetable ingredients with the “Cruelty-Free” certification, a document which proves that animal experiments were not conducted in the manufacturing process of the products. LG Household & Health Care has stopped testing animals on all of their products since 2012 and replaced them with a cell culture toxicity assay and an immune cell culture assay. COSMAX won a secret certification for its cosmetics production facilities for the first time in Asia last year from Eve, a French certification agency. Even if the products are not tested on animals, it should be carefully examined whether animal materials such as horse oil cream, snail cream, honey, collagen, and Squalene which are extracted from shark liver, are not included. KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates) and others are releasing information on vegan companies that exclude animal testing and animal products through their own websites. AROMATICA, which does not use endangered plants as it is not enough to use only vegetable ingredients in all of its products, is also a leading domestic vegan Cosmetics brand. Dear Dahlia, which introduced makeup products of natural ingredients, and The Vegan Glow launched in November last year, are also notable vegan cosmetics.
Following Stella McCartney in 2015 and Georgio Armani in 2016, Gucci also declared “Fur Free” that it would not use animal fur in 2017. The reason why luxury brands joined the trend was because of the problem of animal ethics in the process of production. The calf leather is made by peeling the skin of a calf less than six months old. They even force a six months old fetus out of their mother’s belly to skin it. This leather is usually used as material for high-quality clothing, shoes, and bags. Rabbit and raccoon fur, which are used in winter on the rim of a hat or muffler, are stripped of leather and fur while the animal is alive to obtain a glossy fur. The process of producing duck and goose fur, suede, wool, angora, cashmere which is used as a filling material for winter padding or quilt, is not much different either. As ethical responsibility grows for animals sacrificed for human beauty, brands specializing only in vegan fashion have sprung up in Korea such as Vegan Tiger or Not Ours. However, some in the fashion industry say that vegetarian fashion is not the only answer. They say synthetic fur products made of synthetic materials instead of real animal leathers or fur could further pollute the environment. Some say that “Fur Free” is not environmentally friendly because there is no safe way to dispose polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products. While “Fur Free” can alleviate the moral burden on the issue of animal abuse, it is difficult to escape from the problems of natural destruction and environmental pollution.