Animal products are materials and substances derived from animals—both parts of the animal body, such as meat, hide, and bone, and substances that animals produce or secrete, such as milk, honey, beeswax, and lanolin. Everyday examples range from foods like meat, milk, and eggs to materials such as leather, wool, and gelatin.
This page gives a broad overview of the topic: what counts as an animal product, the most common examples across food and non-food categories, where animal-derived ingredients appear in everyday goods—including vitamins and supplements—and the practical and ethical considerations many people weigh when choosing products. The articles collected under this tag explore specific aspects of the topic in greater depth.
What Are Animal Products?
The term animal product is generally used for any material or substance obtained from animals. It covers products made from animal bodies, such as meat, leather, and wool, as well as substances that animals produce or secrete, such as milk, honey, beeswax, and lanolin—a waxy substance naturally present in sheep's wool. Because the definition is broad, animal-derived ingredients appear in far more places than many people expect, from the dessert on a menu to the shell of a supplement capsule.
A clear understanding of the definition matters in practice. It helps readers interpret ingredient labels, spot ingredients that may not suit vegetarian, vegan, or faith-based diets—gelatin is a well-known example—and understand where familiar materials actually come from, whether that is the leather in a pair of shoes or the wax in a candle.
Common Examples of Animal Products
Examples usually fall into two groups: products used as food, and materials used for other purposes such as clothing, cosmetics, and household goods. Questions asking for ten or twenty examples are typically answered with a mix of both. The lists below give a representative overview of each group.
Food Products from Animals
The most familiar animal products are foods. Common examples include:
- Meat and poultry, such as beef, pork, chicken, and lamb
- Fish and seafood
- Milk and dairy products, including cheese, butter, and yogurt
- Eggs from chickens and other poultry
- Honey, produced by bees from flower nectar
- Gelatin, a gelling agent derived from collagen, used in desserts and confectionery
- Animal fats such as lard and tallow, used in cooking and baking
- Broths and stocks made from bones and meat
Non-Food Animal Products
Beyond the kitchen, animals provide many materials used in clothing, cosmetics, and manufacturing. Common examples include:
- Leather, used in shoes, bags, belts, and furniture
- Wool and other animal fibres, such as cashmere and mohair
- Silk, produced by silkworms
- Fur and down feathers, used in outerwear and bedding
- Beeswax, used in candles, cosmetics, and polishes
- Lanolin, used in skincare and cosmetic products
- Tallow and other animal fats, traditionally used in soaps and candles
- Pearls and mother-of-pearl, used in jewellery and decorative items
- Bones, horns, and hooves, traditionally used for buttons, combs, and bone china
- Animal by-products, used in applications such as pet food and fertilizers
Taken together, examples like these easily fill a list of ten—or twenty—things we get from animals, and they show how deeply animal-derived materials are woven into food culture, wardrobes, cosmetics, and households.
What Products Use Animal Products?
Many everyday product categories rely on animal-derived ingredients, sometimes in ways that are not obvious at first glance. Common examples include:
- Clothing and footwear: leather, wool, silk, and fur
- Cosmetics and personal care: lanolin, beeswax, and collagen in moisturisers, lip products, and skincare
- Household goods: beeswax and tallow in candles, and animal fats in some traditional soaps
- Confectionery and processed foods: gelatin in gummies, marshmallows, and desserts
- Pharmaceuticals and supplements: gelatin capsule shells and certain active ingredients
In many of these categories the animal-derived ingredient plays a functional role—gelatin sets a gummy sweet or forms a capsule shell, while beeswax gives structure to a balm—rather than being the most visible component, which is why it can be easy to overlook.
Animal-Derived Ingredients in Vitamins and Supplements
Supplements are one of the categories where animal-derived ingredients appear most often, both in the capsule and sometimes as the active ingredient itself. Gelatin is widely used for capsule and softgel shells, and fish oil is a common source of omega-3 fatty acids—you can explore these in our omega-3 supplements collection. Collagen and glucosamine are themselves animal-derived, and vitamin D3 has traditionally been sourced from lanolin, a waxy substance obtained from sheep's wool.
Other nutrients are also worth knowing about in this context. Vitamin B12, for example, occurs naturally in foods of animal origin, which is one reason it frequently features in discussions about vegetarian and vegan diets; options across the vitamin B group can be compared in our vitamin B supplements collection.
For readers who avoid animal-derived ingredients, plant-based alternatives exist for most of these: capsule shells made from cellulose or other plant materials, algae oil as a plant-based source of omega-3, and vitamin D options such as vitamin D2 or vegan D3 derived from lichen. You can explore vitamin D further in our vitamin D supplements collection. Availability and labelling vary between brands, so the ingredient list remains the most reliable source of information.
Because gelatin capsules are common by default, ingredient sourcing matters across many product types—from single-ingredient formulas to multivitamins. Reading labels carefully, checking certifications, or choosing products explicitly marketed as vegan or vegetarian helps match purchases with personal preferences.
Checking Labels and Making Informed Choices
Ingredient lists are the main tool for identifying animal-derived ingredients. Terms such as gelatin, lanolin, collagen, beeswax, and tallow indicate animal origins, while descriptors such as vegan or vegetarian signal their absence. When labelling is unclear, contacting the manufacturer directly is often the most reliable way to confirm sourcing.
It is also worth distinguishing general educational information from personal advice. For questions about which supplements and ingredients suit individual needs, a doctor, pharmacist, or other qualified healthcare professional is the appropriate source of guidance.
Ethical and Sustainability Considerations
Beyond ingredients, animal products raise broader questions about animal welfare, environmental impact, and transparency in the supply chain. These considerations apply across food, fashion, and supplements, and they are one of the main reasons people want to understand exactly where animal-derived materials come from and how they are produced.
Certifications, sourcing disclosures, and brand policies can help in evaluating practices, although standards and their enforcement vary. Considering alternatives—plant-based materials, synthetic options, or vegan-certified supplements—is one way to align purchases with personal values. There is no single right approach; informed decisions depend on individual priorities, including ethics, practicality, and budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are examples of animal products?
Common examples include meat, fish, milk and dairy products, eggs, honey, leather, wool, silk, gelatin, beeswax, and lanolin. In short, animal products are materials derived from animal bodies or produced by animals, such as milk and honey.
What are 10 things we get from animals?
Ten everyday examples are beef, chicken, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, honey, leather, wool, and gelatin—a mix of foods and non-food materials.
What are 20 things we get from animals?
A twenty-item list typically includes meat, fish, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, eggs, honey, gelatin, lard, leather, wool, cashmere, silk, fur, down, beeswax, lanolin, tallow, and pearls—spanning food, clothing, cosmetics, and household uses.
What products use animal products?
Clothing and footwear, cosmetics and skincare, candles and soaps, many processed foods, and most conventional supplement capsules rely on animal-derived ingredients such as leather, lanolin, beeswax, and gelatin. Vegan-labelled alternatives are available across these categories.
The articles gathered under this tag look at individual parts of this topic in more detail—specific ingredients, sourcing questions, and dietary considerations—so you can move from this broad overview to the areas that matter most to you.
