BY Ben Hooke

- Looking after the planet means looking after all of its inhabitants. 
- The conditions animals are held in to then be used in a product are often unknown and/or cruel. 
- Nature and biodiversity are declining. 
- Our solution is to not use animal-derived materials.
- hylo athletics is a vegan company and all of our products are vegan.

The Problem:

The apparel and footwear industry is heavily dependent on animal derived products. Some of the most commonly used animal-derived materials are leather, wool and fur. 

The main concerns around the use of animal products and byproducts are to do with the welfare of the animal and the resources needed to maintain the animals and manufacture the materials.
 
For animal-derived materials to end up in a product, the animal(s) have to be exploited or killed. The conditions the animals are held in are often unknown and/or cruel. 

Next to that, the raising and maintaining of animals takes up a lot of resources (land, feedstock, energy and water). Livestock now takes up a shocking percentage of all mammals and birds on earth. With 60% of all mammals on earth being livestock (primarily pigs and cows) while only 4% are wild mammals.

Our Solution: 

We are looking to reduce our impact wherever possible. Looking after the planet means looking after all its inhabitants. 

With nature and the biodiversity it contains declining at unprecedented levels it is crucial that we preserve every little bit we can. 

That is why all our products are and will be certified vegan.

But what does this actually mean? 

Usually being vegan is associated with an individual's lifestyle. Here someone chooses to avoid all products containing  animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs and honey; animal derived products like leather; and, as far as possible, products tested on animals. 

For us as a company, being vegan certified means that our products nor any materials in them have undergone animal testing, no animal products or byproducts are used and we manage cross-contamination during the manufacturing process. 

In short, not even the smallest trace of animal products can be found in our products. This also means all our products are cruelty free.

How does the certification process work?

We have two certifications on our products currently: our main route is through the Vegan Society. 

This involves all of our suppliers and supply chain partners signing written declarations to say no animal products or by-products are used in their materials or processes. 

For our other route of certification, the process is very detailed and takes several weeks. Every single material, pigment and glue we use to make our product is tested in a lab to determine whether it contains any traces of animal (derived) products in it or not. 

To lab-certify our products we have to create an overview of the materials used to make each component, including all the different inks to create the different colourways. The more colourways, the more testing as the glues, inks and dyes have the highest risk of not being vegan. 

Next, all our suppliers send us samples and they sign a declaration stating that the materials they supply us with do not contain any animal products - the same as the Vegan Society method including the declarations from supply chain partners. Our partner Eurofins then tests these samples by conducting DNA testing, FTIR analysis and microscopies. Once the materials have been tested and no animal trace is found, we are issued a product certificate for the product being tested.