*This feature is not sponsored or paid for in any way by The Vegan Glow or any other invested party
Korean beauty is one of the biggest markets in the beauty world and has been popular for years for many reasons Be it the ingredients, the characterful packaging, and everything in between, there’s a lot to love about K-Beauty. To some though, the Korean beauty multi-step routine and some of the unfamiliar ingredients may be daunting. To address this, there are some brands that try to make it simple for those who want to get into K-Beauty but may be a bit overwhelmed by what’s already in the market. Some brands are now marketing their products as clean and simple K-Beauty. One of those brands is The Vegan Glow.
With years of experience in the Korean beauty industry, the team behind The Vegan Glow have created a range that features the safest and most effective ingredients without any nasties or animal-derived ingredients. The Vegan Glow offers clean, simple, and effective formulas that are gentle on the skin and hair. The compact range also makes it uncomplicated for the K-Beauty beginner and easy to incorporate into a veteran’s routine. To learn more about the brand, we reached out to a representative.
OWNERSHIP
The Vegan Glow is an independent business and does not have a parent company.
INGREDIENTS & RAW MATERIALS
The Vegan Glow promises to have carefully selected the most effective ingredients based on years of experience from the Korean cosmetics industry. They’ve formulated their products without artificial fragrances, animal-derived ingredients, or hazardous substances. Instead they strictly formulate The Vegan Glow products with EWG green ingredients. All ingredients for all of their products are also disclosed on each respective product page on their website.
They are PETA-certified cruelty-free and vegan, however, they could not assure us that all of their suppliers adhere to cruelty-free standards. A representative from the brand has told us that “(they) have checked for certain raw materials but not all of them.” However, animal testing for cosmetics is banned in South Korea. They are also not sold in mainland China and will not do so unless they change their laws regarding animal testing. They are also not organic and have no plans to make their range organic in the future.
SOURCING & PRODUCTION
As for sourcing their ingredients, a representative from The Vegan Glow has told us that they currently do not hold a fair trade certificate and therefore cannot assure us that all of their ingredients are sourced within a fair trade umbrella.
PACKAGING & RECYCLING OPTIONS
The Vegan Glow hair care bars are all packaged in paper. They do still have some plastic packaging because of difficulty sourcing an alternative, however, they are working on this. They also ship with paper protection instead of bubble wrap and do not make single-use testers.
Their brand representative has expressed that they would love to have a refilling program, however, because they do not have physical stores, they found it difficult to implement. They are looking forward to gaining wider offline channels so they could one day offer this option.
GIVING BACK & ADVOCACY
The Vegan Glow gives a percentage of the amount they raised from crowdfunding to an animal rights group. They look forward to growing enough to expand their contributions.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVITY
The Vegan Glow is currently run by a small team of four - two Asians, one European, and one American; one man, and three women.
As far as an introduction to clean K-Beauty goes, The Vegan Glow range is great. Clean, uncomplicated products in simple packaging that are easy to incorporate into anyone’s routine. The brand is relatively new to the market, but if reviews are anything to go by, users of their products, both skin care and hair care, are loving them so far. It would have been nice if the products came in more sustainable packaging, but we're hopeful that The Vegan Glow team can address this soon as they are looking for alternatives to their plastic packaging. We also hope the brand can get certification regarding their ingredient sourcing for the peace of mind of customers.
If you’re keen to try out some K-Beauty products, or just looking for some new, clean Korean products to incorporate into your routine, you might want to check out The Vegan Glow range. And if you do, let us know what you think in the comments!
The Vegan Glow is available worldwide via the website and global resellers.