Vegans on the rise

The number of vegans in the UK is rising. It is estimated that by 2025 at least a quarter of all Britons will be either vegan or vegetarian. This exponential growth paves the way for a new breed of garment decoration products to cater to this market. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey speaks to Andy Rogers, marketing manager at Target Transfers, about Stahls’ release of two vegan-friendly HTVs.

There are two components to a true vegan-friendly product. The garment itself and the decoration process, whether that’s embroidery, DTG printing and so on.

To be certified as vegan, a product must be completely absent of any animal products or testing in the manufacturing process or materials.

Stahls’ has recently announced that its Glitter and High Build 3D heat transfer vinyls have been tested and certified to the VeganOK standard.

With the UK experiencing a surge in demand for vegan-friendly products, Andy explains that customer feedback was the key to heading down the certification route. “Our customer feedback was that a vegan product was in demand within the industry. Our Glitter HTV is one of our most popular vinyls and we are thrilled to be able to provide it as a vegan option to our customers. The massive increase in people who are vegan alongside the growth of the textile and garment decorating industry leaves us with no concern that these products will continue to grow in popularity as awareness and communities grow. It’s great that we can provide such a great quality product to grow alongside the everchanging sustainable culture and allow everyone to wear fashionably decorated, vegan products.”

So far, Andy says the uptake and interest has been massive, and that Target Transfers is more than happy to provide vegan products for the growing demand across the industry. “Our customers have told us how much they love the quality of our heat transfer vinyl, the sparkle finish on the Glitter HTV and how easy it is to cut and weed. Stahls’ was happy to be able to provide a high quality, effective and easy to use product for garments and accessories of all shapes and sizes for all customers to use and enjoy.”

Andy sees the High Build 3D HTV as great for decorating caps, as the trend for snapback caps continues to grow. “Our High Build HTV is great for caps and other accessories because of its raised finish. Stahls’ High Build 3D is the thickest HTV available on the market at, 1000 microns,” says Andy. He continues to says: “Glitter has always been very popular for all kinds of garments and across lots of different industries. The range is particularly popular for decorating children’s garments as they’re safe and have a great vibrant, sparkly finish to make any item of clothing really pop.”

Across the two products there are over 60 colours available, meaning it has never been easier for a garment decorator to offer a vegan option to customers. Both products are easy to cut and weed and last 50+ washes.

Andy is hopeful that by the end of 2020, even more of Target Transfer’s HTVs will be available with VeganOK certification. So, watch this space.