​Understanding Vegan paint

Want to spruce up your home this Veganuary but not sure where to start with Vegan paint for walls?

Here’s our handy guide to choosing Vegan wall paints, wood paints, primers and lots more…

(Vegan Paint - Claypaint by Earthborn. Colour Inglenook)

Lets start by looking at why some paints are NOT vegan?

There are 2 main reasons why paint isn’t vegan…

1. The binder used in it’s manufacture (binder is the main ingredient in paint) contains animal products. Examples of these are ‘casein’ (milk protein), ‘shellac’ (resin secreted from the female lac bug), ‘Ox Gall’ (usually taken from cows) and ‘beeswax’.
2. The paint (or one or more of the ingredients in the paint) has been tested on animals. This usually involves either putting a sample of the paint or ingredient on the skin of the animal or forcing them to ingest it.

How do you know if paint is Vegan?

Unfortunately it isn’t always as easy as you might think to know if a paint is vegan and to make matters worse, there are other descriptions which are often used by manufacturers that could give some the impression the paint may be Vegan too. Common examples like Eco Friendly, Natural and Cruelty Free, whilst not directly saying they’re Vegan, by their nature, can make you think that they might be.

So what do they really mean?

• Eco Friendly – in general terms this means that the product and packaging are not harmful to the planet. It’s a broad term but typically means that the manufacturer uses or makes their product with recycled materials, uses materials from renewable resources, promotes reusability or uses renewable energy in their manufacturing process.
• Natural – natural paints are those that are made from naturally occurring raw materials such as clay, chalk, mineral etc. It does not mean that animal derived ingredients are not also present nor that the product was not tested on animals.
• Cruelty Free – means that the product and it’s ingredients were not tested on animals. It does not mean those ingredients do not contain animal products.

(if you would like to read more about the use of these terms in relation to paint, read our  "What is natural?" blog post).

Whilst all these examples have positive connotations and many may in fact be Vegan, these descriptions alone do not mean they are. It’s also worth knowing that there are no regulations or monitoring of the use of these descriptions so the only way to be sure, is to look for additional information from the manufacture that indicates why the product is Vegan. Where this information isn’t clear, then it’s best to check with the manufacturer.

Now you know the basics of identifying Vegan paints, you’re going to need to find some brands. We triple checked all the following paints are both vegan and cruelty free.

Here‘s a list of our range of vegan paint brands to help get you started….

Earthborn Paint

(Earthborn Vegan Paint - Claypaint Walls with Eggshell 17 on skirting and cot.)

These Earthborn paints and associated products are all Vegan friendly with very low VOC’s.

Claypaint & Eco Chic –an ultra matt finish which is highly breathable, has great covering power and is virtually VOC free for walls, ceilings and furniture.

Lifestyle – a hard wearing low sheen washable emulsion for interior walls and ceilings which is especially good in areas of higher humidity or high traffic.

Eggshell 17 – an interior wood paint which is flexible and breathable that cares for wood

EcoPro Matt Emulsion – a breathable, wipeable emulsion paint for walls and ceilings with great covering power.

EcoPro Lo sheen Emulsion – a washable, durable emulsion with low odour for walls and ceilings.

EcoPro Silicate Masonry paint – a highly breathable interior and exterior silicate paint for mineral surfaces.

EcoPro Eggshell - an interior wood paint in same colours as the rest of the Earthborn EcoPro range.

Wall Glaze – a water-based, transparent glaze which can be used to stabilise walls before painting, act as a protective top coat over paint or be mixed with pigments to create colour washes and paint effects.

Furniture Glaze - a clear, water-based glaze designed to protect painted furniture.

Multi-Purpose Primer - a low odour, water-based primer for interior wood, melamine and MDF surfaces.

Isolating Primer - designed to treat stubborn dry stains before over painting with water-based paint.

Graphenstone Paint

GCS Interior Paint from Graphenstone is Vegan (along with many of their other paint ranges - see below)

Vegan mineral paints with very low VOC’s and strengthened with Graphene for a tough and durable finish.

GrafClean Interior and GrafClean Exterior – A tough, durable mineral paint with extremely good covering power. Can be used on most types of surface and available for interior and exterior applications.

Ecosphere – a tough, premium natural lime paint for interior walls and ceilings - suitable for most types of surfaces.

Biosphere – a premium, natural, matt lime paint which is extremely durable and has a slight mineral texture for exterior walls.

GCS Interior and GCS Exterior paints – made from a combination of lime, silicate and natural minerals, this breathable matt paint is perfect for restoration, heritage and listed properties.

GrafClean Mid Sheen – a super tough mineral paint that can be used on interior and exterior wood, walls, tiles, brick and so much more!

AURO natural paints

(Auro 524 painted on the sloping ceiling of this eco friendly loft conversion project)

Natural, Vegan and breathable paints with very low VOC’s

Auro 524 Washable Emulsion (white) - a natural, non-toxic washable emulsion paint for walls and ceilings with great covering power.

Auro 327 Anti-Mould Paint (white) – an anti mould paint which is ideal for use in areas with high levels of condensation like bathrooms and around windows. We love it on bathroom ceilings.

Auro 321 Economic Emulsion (white) - a natural matt emulsion for interior walls, suitable for a wide range of substrates.

Auro 331 Clay Paint (white) – a wonderfully creamy matt finish clay paint which is splash water resistant.

Auro 505 & Auro 506 - problem solving primers for difficult surfaces, providing better adhesion for follow-up coatings (interior/exterior) as well as an excellent universal plasterer's grip coat primer.

Coloured Earth Pigments

(Magenta Rose - one of over 70 pigments in the Coloured Earth Pigment range)

Natural earth and mineral pigments that are Vegan and non toxic.

These  Coloured Earth Pigments have a huge range colours and can be mixed with paint to create your own unique colours.

All our Vegan Paints

All our vegan paint brands can be found in the handy " Vegan Paint" section of our website. We update this page regularly when new vegan paint brands are available.

Did you find what you were looking for? If not - contact us, we’ll be happy to help you!