A new international flag designed for the vegan movement has been unveiled - but it looks rather familiar.

A bit like an upside-down version of the crowd favourite in the New Zealand flag debate - Red Peak.

The vegan flag was designed by Israeli Gad Hakimi, who researched the vegan movement for an appropriate global symbol.

He has provided the flag design as a free "open source" emblem for veganism.

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The flag was officially launched in June and it didn't take long before people spotted a similarity to Red Peak, a popular design by New Zealander Aaron Dustin​ and the emblem that caught the public's imagination during the national flag redesign debate in 2015 and 2016.

SUPPLIED The Red Peak flag, designed by Aaron Dustin.

The current flag was confirmed as the national emblem after two referenda.

The vegan flag colours were chosen to represent the colours of the Earth, the sea, the air, and the land.

Hakimi said he collected materials from vegan associations around the world to help design a brand to encompass the concept of veganism - which excludes meat and any products involving the exploitation of animals by humans.

"The result was clear - we needed a flag. Until now we only used unconnected symbols," Hakimi said.

White represents light, green represents land and life, and blue represents sky, the sea, and truth, the flag's designer said.

Red Peak - one of 10,292 designs submitted to a flag panel - was officially called 'First to the Light' and was inspired by Maori weaving techniques and the Maori creation legend of land and sky - Ranginui and Papatuanuku.

"This is just a different coloured upside down New Zealand redpeak," one commenter said on Twitter.

"First they come for red meat, then they take #redpeak!," another commenter said.

Vegans have embraced the design and there are lots of examples using the new vegan flag as face paint, bumper stickers, water bottles, and bank cards.