If halal meat has been readily available internationally for decades, niche and powerhouse beauty brands are now launching halal beauty products with everything from halal mascara to halal foundation
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With the rise of organic, vegan, and cruelty-free beauty, it's clear that many people care a great deal about what goes into their beauty products. "Natural" and "green" labels are so ubiquitous that you can find them everywhere. But there's a new addition to the world of conscious cosmetics that you may not have heard about — halal beauty.
Referring to products manufactured, produced, and composed of ingredients that are "permissible" under Islamic law, halal is definitely a burgeoning category.
According to Habib Ghanim, director of ISWA Halal Certification Department and president of USA Halal Chamber of Commerce, this means that each product must not contain any pork, animals that were dead prior to slaughtering, blood, alcohol, or carnivorous animals as these items are considered haram or forbidden in Arabic.
And while Singapore was one of the first countries in the world to formalize halal certification for cosmetics, many halal beauty companies are adopting similar holistic philosophies, which they hope will help draw in non-Muslim consumers as well. Major brands like Shiseido and Estée Lauder are also taking note. Both companies have now acquired halal certification for certain products sold abroad, a process that can take months and comes with a hefty fee. Membership with U.S. Halal Certification costs almost $2,000, depending on the number of items to be certified.
The halal industry has plenty of room to grow, and for an industry that is worth billions we certainly expect it to. More and more businesses around the world are tapping into the halal cosmetics ideology, eyeing potential Middle Eastern and South Asian consumers. Japanese company Shiseido obtained halal certification in Vietnam in 2012, and currently sells 28 halal skin-care products under the Za brand in Malaysia. Even brands like Estée Lauder and Colgate-Palmolive have products that are halal-approved.
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While both vegans and Muslims can enjoy halal and vegan products, these products cannot be lumped together. Halal products cannot contain any alcohol, pig, carnivore, or blood-based ingredients, but any part of a permissible animal's meat or bones can be included.
Vegan products, on the other hand, contain no animal byproducts of any kind including meat, dairy, or eggs, but can contain ingredients like alcohol.
Just because something is labeled halal doesn't mean it's vegan and vice versa.
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Muslims comprise over 23% of the global population, according to a Pew Research Center estimate. As the Muslim population grows, more and more people are searching for halal alternatives to common cosmetics and personal-hygiene products.
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What is halal?
“Halal”—which means “permissible”—is one of the tenets of morality in Islam, and refers to anything that is lawful in Islamic law. Islam prohibits the consumption of pork, alcohol, and blood. Products that contain one or more of these ingredients are considered to be “haram” or forbidden.
