Beauty brands that embraced veganism in 2019

The year 2019 was another bumper 12 months for vegan beauty, with a slew of new, animal product-free lines hitting the beauty shelves all over the world. Meanwhile, existing brands sought to boost their vegan offerings for increasingly socially-conscious consumers. 

Prestige skincare brand CeraVe already sells animal product-free products in the UK and multiple other countries, but the company announced plans this year to make its products more vegan-friendly in the US and Canada. Back in February, the L'Oréal-owned label set itself the target of making its offerings in North America more than 90 percent vegan by the year 2021, and told Allure that it was working on replacing one of its ingredients, a type of cholesterol derived from sheep's wool, with a vegan version.

Another L'Oreal-owned label, Dermablend Professional, also took steps towards championing animal welfare this year by becoming certified cruelty-free by PETA and announcing plans to cut animal-derived ingredients from its formulas to ensure that they are 100% vegan. "People are looking for brands that align with their values and our goal is to empower our consumers with the confidence and knowledge they need to make the best decisions for their beauty routines," said Malena Higuera, General Manager at Dermablend Professional, at the time.

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Avon was another titan to pivot towards veganism, unveiling a five-piece skincare collection called ‘The Distillery' in September. Free from animal products and harmful chemicals, the products also featured low-water formulas and recycling packaging, where possible.

The moves signal a sea change in the way the beauty industry is approaching the use of animal-derived ingredients -- and the shift was bolstered this year by the arrival of several new, vegan beauty brands. From Millie Bobby Brown's ‘Florence By Mills' line to Kesha's label ‘Kesha Rose Beauty,' the industry's hottest new additions were noticeably free of animal products, suggesting that vegan beauty is here to stay.