News

UK's new fiver offends 'millions'

November 30, 2016

The Bank of England's new five pound note has vegans and vegetarians across the U.K. mad about money. Literally. Outraged.

The reason? The high-tech polymer substrate they're made from contains traces of tallow — rendered animal fat — a substance that's been used for eons in the production of candles and soap.

A petition on Change.org addressed to the Bank of England and signed by more than 110,000 Britons reads:

The new £5 notes contain animal fat in the form of tallow. This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the U.K.

We demand that you cease to use animal products in the production of currency that we have to use. 

Yesterday, the bank responded to the outpouring of vegan vitriol with a statement on its website:

We are aware of some people’s concerns about traces of tallow in our new five pound note. We respect those concerns and are treating them with the utmost seriousness.

This issue has only just come to light, and the Bank did not know about it when the contract was signed.

Information recently provided by our supplier, Innovia, and its supply chain shows that an extremely small amount of tallow is used in an early stage of the production process of polymer pellets, which are then used to create the base substrate for the five pound note.

Innovia is now working intensively with its supply chain and will keep the Bank informed on progress towards potential solutions.