A registered mark: we describe it in words and do not reproduce it.
V-Label (vegan or vegetarian)
Vegan: no ingredient, processing aid, carrier, aroma or fragrance of animal origin at any stage — no honey, beeswax, lanolin, milk or animal-origin colours. Vegetarian: the same, except that milk, eggs, honey, beeswax, propolis and lanolin from living sheep are allowed. Both: no animal testing of the end product, no products that need GMO labelling, and a target of under 0.1 % unintended non-vegan or non-vegetarian traces.
Who awards it
V-Label GmbH licenses the mark and commissions regular audits of licensees under its published criteria (version 02.02, updated 20 January 2025).
What it does not certify
It does not certify that a product labelled ‘vegetarian’ is vegan — read the word under the V. It does not certify zero traces: going over the 0.1 % benchmark ‘does not automatically result in an exclusion’ if the producer has done what it can. And it does not certify that no ingredient was ever tested on animals: the criteria ban ingredient tests only when they are carried out specifically for the end product.
This page explains what a symbol or mark on the pack means in law or in the scheme’s own rules. It is not advice on whether a product or an ingredient is safe for you or suits your skin: for that, read the product’s warnings and ask a pharmacist or doctor.
- What it looks like
- A registered logo built around a stylised V, with the word ‘vegan’ or ‘vegetarian’ under it. We do not reproduce it.
- Also called
- V-Label vegan; V-Label vegetarian; V logo
Good to know
The same V is used on food, so the rules are written for both; for a cosmetic the lines about wax, lanolin, colours and fragrances are the ones that matter.
Other certification marks
Sources
Quoted from the scheme owner’s own published criteria, each fetched and read on the date shown. Schemes revise their criteria; the owner’s current document is the authority.
- Scheme owner — V-Label GmbH: Annex 1: Criteria for the V-Label, INT-V-Label-Criteria-V02.02 (last update 20 January 2025, PDF) — Definition of ‘vegan’ (no wax from animals including wool fat/lanoline, beeswax and shellac; no honey; no colouring agents of animal origin); definition of ‘vegetarian’ (milk, eggs, honey, beeswax, propolis, wool grease allowed); unintended traces ‘should be less than 0.1 % (1g/kg)’, deviation ‘does not automatically result in an exclusion’; GMO-labelled products excluded; animal testing of ingredients not allowed ‘if they are carried out specifically for the end product’; regular audits. Checked 2026-09-26.