Affiliate Disclosure

last_updated: 2026-05-03

VeganStove uses affiliate links. This page tells you exactly what that means, which programs we participate in, what rules we follow, and how to spot an affiliate link before you click.

Effective date: 2026-05-03. Last updated: 2026-05-03.

The short version

• Some links to products are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we earn a small commission. The price you pay does not change.
• We only link to tools and ingredients we have personally used in the test kitchen.
• Commission does not influence whether something gets a positive review. If we did not like it, we say so, or we do not link to it at all.
• Every page that contains an affiliate link includes a disclosure at the top.
• We are an Amazon Associate, and we participate in a small number of other affiliate programs (listed below).

What an affiliate link is

An affiliate link is a tracked URL. When you click it and buy the product within a tracking window (often 24 to 30 days), the merchant pays VeganStove a small commission, typically 1 to 8 percent of the sale, depending on the program and the product category.

Your price is the same whether you click an affiliate link or go to the merchant directly. The commission is paid by the merchant out of their margin, not added on top.

How affiliate revenue is used

Affiliate income covers:

• The ingredients and equipment we test cook with (and sometimes destroy testing).
• Hosting, software licenses, and the time it takes to keep this site running.
• One person’s groceries when she has cooked the same dish four times this week to nail the timing.

It is not a primary income source. It is a secondary one. The site exists because the recipes exist, not the other way around.

Programs we participate in

• Amazon Associates (US). VeganStove is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
• Other affiliate programs. From time to time we participate in programs run by specialty kitchen tool brands or plant-based ingredient suppliers we already buy from. The brand is named in the content where the link appears. We do not maintain a wholesale brand list because the participation rotates.

We do not participate in pay-per-click ad networks, content-recommendation widgets, or “you may also like” trackers in the article body. Programmatic banner ads, where used, are clearly labeled as advertising, not editorial.

Our rules for what gets linked

This is the part that matters more than the legal disclosure.

1. Personal use first.

If a product appears in a recommendation here, the test cook has used it personally for at least a few weeks under normal kitchen conditions. Not “used in a sponsored unboxing.” Used.

2. Negative reviews stay negative.

If a product underperformed in the test kitchen, we either say so in plain language or we do not link to it at all. The affiliate program does not care whether the review is positive. We care.

3. No pay-for-placement.

A brand cannot pay to be added to a “best of” roundup. The criteria are stated in the article. The list is built from products that fit the criteria.

4. No surprise affiliations.

Pages with affiliate links carry a visible disclosure near the top of the article, in addition to this site-wide page. If you do not see one, the link is not affiliate.

5. Categories we will not link to.

• Diet pills, weight-loss supplements, “detox” products.
• MLM brands.
• Products that contradict the editorial position (animal-derived ingredients on a vegan site, for instance).
• Products with active recalls or unresolved safety issues.

How to spot an affiliate link

Three ways:

1. Pages with affiliate links say so at the top, in plain language, before the main content begins.
2. Affiliate links typically point to merchants like amazon.com/dp/... or contain tracking parameters like ?tag= or ?aff=.
3. Hovering over a link in a desktop browser shows the destination URL in the bottom-left of the screen.

You are never required to use an affiliate link. If you would rather not, search the product name on the merchant directly. The link itself is the only thing affected.

Sponsored posts (when they happen)

A sponsored post is one where a brand has paid for editorial placement. They are rare on VeganStove. When one runs, it is labeled “sponsored” or “in partnership with [brand]” at the top of the post, in addition to whatever Amazon-style disclosures the FTC requires.

The editorial standard is identical: we test the product, we say what we actually think, and we keep the right to be honest about flaws. Brands that do not accept those terms do not run sponsored posts here.

Free product samples

Sometimes a brand sends a product to test for free. Receiving a free sample does not guarantee coverage and does not change the editorial standard. If a free sample is reviewed, the post says so, in keeping with FTC guidance on material connections.

Most unsolicited product samples are donated to a local food-recovery program, untouched. See the contact page for the policy on sending things.

Required FTC disclosures

This page exists in part because the United States Federal Trade Commission requires sites that earn from affiliate links or accept free product to disclose those material connections to readers. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), as substantially revised in June 2023, apply to this site.

The 2023 revisions tightened expectations on disclosure prominence, the definition of an “endorsement,” the treatment of incentivized reviews and free samples, and the responsibilities of platforms hosting reviews. We have aligned this page and our in-post disclosures with the 2023 text.

We aim to comply with both the letter and the spirit. The letter requires “clear and conspicuous” disclosure. The spirit requires that you, the reader, never be surprised about a financial relationship behind a recommendation. We try to satisfy both.

Questions, complaints, corrections

If you spot a recommendation that looks off, a missing disclosure, or anything that smells like pay-for-placement disguised as editorial, please send a message via the contact page. We take these messages seriously, and we will fix the post if you are right.