I see so many people online who are currently or have recently transitioned to a vegan lifestyle. Myself after 11 years vegetarian, decided to go one step further and adopt a vegan diet from January 1 2020. It started out as a 'Veganuary' challenge and I soon decided this was the best decision for my body, my mind and the planet.
Now that I have a completely cruelty-free diet, I started thinking about other items in my life, shoes, bags, makeup, skincare etc. I decided to replace everything that can be replaced with cruelty-free options and I started separating all my non-cruelty-free items to the side and realised:
1. We don't realise how much animal products are in our lives until we really start thinking about it and I had no shoes left, only a couple of handbags and very little makeup left.
2. I also had a huge pile of perfectly good things to throw away and was creating an immense amount of unnecessary waste.
I saw many youtube videos of people turning Vegan and Mary-Kondoing their stuff throwing away all their non-cruelty-free possessions; That got me thinking... Do I really need to create all this waste and spend all this money to replace this huge amount of Beauty Products? The answer is simple: NO. I will continue to use up these products, the money is already spent, the damage is already done. Throwing these products away defeats the purpose of why I turned vegan in the first place: Live a more mindful life.
I've put all products back and I will continue to use them until they are finished, dispose of them properly and then replace with cruelty-free alternatives.
You may ask why I say cruelty-free and not vegan, I am on a vegan diet after all, then why not abolish all animal products from my life? There are certain by-products I can use in good conscience, for example Lanolin and Wool. Growing up in a farm with sheep I very well know what happens to sheep if their wool doesn't get cut off in early spring, flies get inside the wool and start laying eggs, which soon turn into maggots that start eating the sheep's flesh, it's incredibly hot inside the wool and they nearly cook alive. It's a great relief for them to have their wool cut off and you can see how grateful they are. If there are companies doing that in an inhumane matter? Sure and that's why I want to commit to trying to find products with an ethically sourced lanolin and clothing with ethically sourced wool.
Same as beeswax, I know it's a controversial ingredient but it's very beneficial for the skin and can be harvested ethically. Its most common alternative 'Carnauba Wax', a wax derived from a Brazilian palm tree also brings huge environmental issues. I will still try to find vegan alternatives to certain products, no one needs honey shower gel or handwash, there are many vegan alternatives out there but if a certain product I like contains beeswax and is cruelty-free, I will continue to use it.
As for leather, I definitely don't need to buy any leather bags, with so many alternatives out there and will most certainly look for alternative shoes but in the mean time will continue using the items I have until they last.
What do you think about this matter? Are you team cruelty free? Let me know your thoughts below.
You may ask why I say cruelty-free and not vegan, I am on a vegan diet after all, then why not abolish all animal products from my life? There are certain by-products I can use in good conscience, for example Lanolin and Wool. Growing up in a farm with sheep I very well know what happens to sheep if their wool doesn't get cut off in early spring, flies get inside the wool and start laying eggs, which soon turn into maggots that start eating the sheep's flesh, it's incredibly hot inside the wool and they nearly cook alive. It's a great relief for them to have their wool cut off and you can see how grateful they are. If there are companies doing that in an inhumane matter? Sure and that's why I want to commit to trying to find products with an ethically sourced lanolin and clothing with ethically sourced wool.
Same as beeswax, I know it's a controversial ingredient but it's very beneficial for the skin and can be harvested ethically. Its most common alternative 'Carnauba Wax', a wax derived from a Brazilian palm tree also brings huge environmental issues. I will still try to find vegan alternatives to certain products, no one needs honey shower gel or handwash, there are many vegan alternatives out there but if a certain product I like contains beeswax and is cruelty-free, I will continue to use it.
As for leather, I definitely don't need to buy any leather bags, with so many alternatives out there and will most certainly look for alternative shoes but in the mean time will continue using the items I have until they last.
What do you think about this matter? Are you team cruelty free? Let me know your thoughts below.
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