2018-11-14 Wed

Australia was the first country in the world to introduce Polymer notes. However, people from Australia recently got to know from a popular Facebook page that Australian currency notes contain certain minimum amounts of an animal by-product.

Almost one per cent of tallow is used as a slip agent to reduce static and friction. Tallow is rendered animal fat from cows, pigs and sheep. Tallow has been used to manufacture banknotes since the 1990s when the first polymer banknotes were introduced. The secret was out only when Britain revealed that they used tallow to make their new five-pound notes last year. This led to nationwide protests from vegans, vegetarians and different religious groups.

The Facebook video revealed that several other countries like Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. use tallow to produce polymer notes. The video also enlightens viewers about other products such as cosmetics, medicines etc. that make use of animal by-products. UK’s Central Bank has not yet found an alternative solution even after animal rights activists and religious groups continue to voice their opinion and express their discontent.

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