Skip to main content

Vegan Paint Caters to Animal Lovers

Do you know what’s in your paint? If it includes animal byproducts, it could be a nonstarter for customers who care about animal welfare. That’s given rise to a new trend of “cruelty-free paint,” also known as “vegan paint.” These paints use plant extracts and natural minerals to replace ingredients derived from animals. Here’s how to know the difference.

21 February, 2024

Vegans are like the extreme athletes of vegetarians. Not only do they avoid meat, but they also eschew products derived from animals. 

Vegans can be pretty hardcore about avoiding animal byproducts. Most of them won’t wear leather since it’s skin from a cow. Some won’t eat honey because they feel bees are being exploited.

It should come as no surprise that vegans’ convictions may also extend to what goes on their walls.

Standard house paints and stains often include animal byproducts. For example, Ox bile – derived from the gall bladders of cattle – is used to improve flow, prevent brush marks, and enhance penetration. In the world of staining, shellac comes from a resin secreted from the female lac bug.

Any of these could cause a vegan to balk, so it may be worth adding vegan-friendly paint to your menu.

Paint Zero, an eco-friendly paint company based in Somerset, England, recently launched one such product.

The company’s vegan paint is made from 100% sustainable plant extracts, natural minerals, and salts. Paint Zero says the vegan paint performs similarly to leading paint brands in trials, meaning you won’t have to sacrifice quality.

The cruelty-free paint comes in powder packs that you mix with tap water. The smaller and lighter packaging means there’s less waste than traditional cans, a feature that should also appeal to customers who care about environmental issues.

Paint Zero isn’t the only company embracing the burgeoning trend.

UK-based Kreidezerit, known in the U.S. under the brand name “Unearthed Paint,” also makes a powder-based, organic wall paint.Meanwhile, the Organic Natural Paint Co. offers a selection of cruelty-free paints, though some aren’t strictly vegan because they contain casein protein, which comes from milk.

More well-known is KILZ. The company’s popular paints and primers neither contain animal products, nor are they tested on animals. KILZ latex paints use plant derivatives for thickening and mined minerals for pigment.

So if you only think about meat and milk at the dinner table, now might be the time to check the ingredients on your truck. Knowing whether your paint is cruelty-free could be the difference between a successful sale or a quote that’s dead on arrival.

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.

Does your company own at least one AED/Automated External Defibrillator?

Choices

Did you attend any in-person paint industry events in 2023?

Choices
Post

Jobsite of the Week - A. Allbright Painting

Read Now
Post

Trends in New Substrates

New building materials designed to last longer and rest easier on the…

Read Now
Post

Strategies to paint baseboard and trim

What is your strategy for painting baseboards and trim? …

Read Now

Post

Why can’t you find any painters?

Read Now
^