Mercedes-Benz has become the first auto manufacturer to offer vegan interior materials certified by an independent organization. The GLC’s soft-touch materials for the Vegan Package – including the seats, headliner, pillar, door panels and carpets – have been tested by The Vegan Society and awarded the vegan certification.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we don’t take shortcuts – instead, we go the extra mile. The certification of our vegan interior by The Vegan Society underlines this approach: transparency and trust are very important to us. Our customers can rest assured that our vegan interior materials do not contain any animal products and meet very high testing standards. We are delighted to be able to offer them this assurance through our partnership with an independent and globally recognized certification organization,” said Markus Schäfer, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group, chief technology officer, development and procurement.
Test criteria
As part of the development process, the vegan materials were tested to ensure the highest level of transparency.
First, interior materials currently available in Mercedes-Benz vehicles – as well as the processes used to manufacture these – were audited by The Vegan Society in a pilot project. This included soft-touch materials such as leather alternative MB-Tex, microfiber fleece and other textiles. Any indicators that these contained animal-based components led to the materials undergoing further development, in cooperation with the respective supplier, and the affected components were replaced by other animal-free components or alternatives.
This was followed by independent audit and certification by The Vegan Society. Approximately 100 material components from various Mercedes-Benz suppliers were audited in accordance with its certification standards.
The certified Vegan Package extends beyond seat surfaces to many other parts of the interior that customers come into regular physical contact with. These include exposed surfaces such as seat and steering wheel upholstery, headliner, door sills, pillars, door panels, sun visors, the center console and instrument panel, as well as the carpet in the cabin and trunk. Many of these materials also feature a high proportion of recycled material content.
“With the joint project between The Vegan Society and Mercedes-Benz, we have reached a new milestone: it is the first time that a car interior has been third-party certified and approved by the Vegan Trademark. We are thrilled that Mercedes-Benz chose to partner with us on this journey and we have certainly learned a lot from the two-year-long project,” said Gabriela Chalkia-Jackson, client relations manager at The Vegan Society.
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