TÜV Süd, a globally active auditing and testing company headquartered in southern Germany, has introduced vegan product certification to ensure that apparel, footwear and textiles are neither made of nor finished with animal-derived materials – such as leather, fur, fibers (wool, silk), glue, dyes and chemical substances (beeswax, carmine dye extracted from cochineal insects). TÜV Süd tests, audits and monitors production for companies all over the world. Companies whose products pass muster will be granted a vegan product certification mark to signify testing and inspection by an independent third party. They will then be free to use the mark in their marketing.