Vegan and Cruelty Free Resources

Perhaps it is because I’ve spent the last three years researching and writing about everything under the sun for university, but I enjoy doing research and the rewarding feeling of empowerment and preparedness it brings. When I changed my lifestyle by purchasing only cruelty free products and then again by become vegan, I wanted to learn a lot of information quickly. It’s been five months since I’ve become vegan and I believe I’ve done a great job of finding a lot of information and have picked up a lot of skills that will serve me for the rest of my life.

Finding this helpful information was a lot harder than I anticipated. I still believe obtaining information about cruelty-free products is harder than finding vegan information simply because companies have an interest in keeping that information harder to find. Established vegans usually guide new vegans into a helpful, tip filled world making the change much easier and pleasant. However, it is harder to find a lot of vegan information with a quick Google search.

Therefore, I've created a guide below with some great resources I’ve discovered in the past five months. The more people you find, the more people they discuss, and the easier it is to find more vegan and cruelty free information/gurus/blogs. This online community is extremely important because for some people these may be the only other vegans/animals rights/cruelty free people they can converse with. I live in a large, thriving city, but I’ve only met two ex-vegans and no one who wants to actively work against animal testing.

I’ve organized the links into obvious categories and will break them up into multiple posts due to the volume. This first post will be about vegan and cruelty free products. I hope that these help you get the information you desire and allow you to make the changes you aim for.

Products & Misc. Lifestyle

Veggie Beauty

If you only look up one resource from this entire list make sure its Kristy’s youtube (veggiebeauty), website, and facebook page! When I discovered her youtube channel, I was ecstatic because it was exactly what I had been hoping to find! She is both vegan and cruelty free and keeps up a standard for the products she manufactures (Pumpkin and Poppy Cosmetics) and buys that I completely agree with.

She has numerous videos about what she buys at the grocery store, what products she uses, and, as she’s on a budget like the rest of us, she talks about a lot of affordable products. Her facebook page is very interactive, and she has replied to every question and comment I’ve made there so far. Seriously, check her out!

Vegan Break

Michelle is vegan and has a great youtube channel (veganbreak) and website. She has a range of videos that include restaurant reviews, grocery hauls, and animal rights information.

Vegan Beauty Review

This one is pretty self explanatory! I prefer her website to her youtube channel (sunbundelicious) since it has a lot more information, but she has such a great personality I enjoy watching her videos. She is vegan, cruelty-free, and prefers products with natural ingredients.

Veg News

Veg News’ youtube channel (VegNewsTV) and website have been the closest thin I’ve found to a (free) vegetarian/vegan/cruelty free news channel or magazine. Their articles and videos cover news in the community, recipes, and green/vegan travel. They also have a print magazine.

Temptalia Dupe List

Temptalia is a regular blog that does not cater to cruelty free or vegan products. However, they have an amazing dupe list that can be helpful when searching for a cruelty free or vegan alternative. If there is some product you are fond of hopefully you will be able to find a dupe that you can feel good about using.

The Discerning Brute

This great blog is for all you men out there. A majority of the information that I’ve found about veganism and cruelty free products often seems produced by and for a female audience regarding products that women would be more interested in. This blog discusses animal rights and veganism but focuses on ethical and green male fashion.

Leaping Bunny

I’ll say it again and again, use the Leaping Bunny List as your guide to cruelty free shopping if you don’t want to make your own list. Every company listed does not have any animal testing of its ingredients or during any stage of production. The brand also can not hire another company to test their products at any stage of production. The CCIC also ensures that an independent, third party audits these companies to confirm their claims.

These products are all cruelty free, but you must personally review each product and company to determine if they are vegan. For more information, I have an entire post dedicated to this topic to the right under July 2011.

The Vegan Society

I’ve just started researching The Vegan Society (website), but so far I like what I see. Similar to The Leaping Bunny Program above, the Vegan Society has the vegan sunflower trademark in which products must meet standards similar to leaping bunny’s but in addition must be vegan. They have a great tool to find companies registered with them here and a more detailed description of their standards can be found here. I plan on writing a more in depth post about The Vegan Society soon.

Guide for Sending and Interpreting Animal Testing Emails

If you have some time and the desire to do so, you can easily do your own cruelty-free research. I strongly recommend doing your own research, even if only to confirm that a list you are using is cruelty free. When I email a company, I try to include the correspondence in my posts both to let you draw your own conclusions and to show how I word my emails and what to expect in return. Before I started emailing companies regarding their animal testing policies, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. So I have some tips and information to help you send your own emails, what to expect, and tips for analyzing a response.

If you would rather look over a list than do your own research, please use the Leaping Bunny guide here and review my post on Leaping Bunny under July 2011. I personally recommend the Leaping Bunny List over PETA’s cruelty free shopping list. Even with this list it is good to check up on a company if you suspect that they may not be cruelty free.

Before sending an email, check the company’s website for an FAQ section where they would usually post information about their animal testing policies. This may or may not help you out. Some companies do not include this information while others only include partial information. If the FAQ section only lists partial information or is unclear and confusing to you, still feel confident about sending an email.

Writing the Email

The most important part of sending an email, is to make sure you include all the question you want a response to. If you simply shoot off an email asking, “Does your company animal test?” you may not receive the same answer I would.

The four imperative questions to ask are:

• Are your company’s finished products tested on animals?
• Are your products’ ingredients tested on animals?
• Does your company hire a third party to perform these tests on your behalf?
• Does X have a parent company? If so, what is the parent;s company's animal testing policy? (This can be omitted depending on your feeling toward animal testing parent companies.)
• Does your company sell products in China or any other country which requires or reserves the right to animal test products sold there?

Here is an example of an email I have sent recently:

“I was unable to find any information regarding your company's animal testing policies on your website. Could you please send me some information regarding the testing of finished products and ingredients on animals as well as any third party animal testing commissioned by your company? Please also let me know whether your company is a subsidiary and if so the name of its parent company.

If your company does meet these standards, I would urge you to consider registering for free with the CCIC’s Leaping Bunny Program.

Thank you in advance for your time and help.”

Another Example:

“I was reviewing Burt's Bees animal testing policy on your website. I read "Burt's Bees does NOT conduct product or ingredient tests of any kind on animals." but I am curious if there are also no animal tests conducted by a third party on your company's behalf.

Any information you could provide will be helpful.

Thank you in advance for your time and help.”

I personally add information about the Leaping Bunny Program and thank the recipient of the email who is usually a Customer Service representative. Once you send your email, you will often see a message thanking you and letting you know how long it will take to receive a response. This time usually varies between two to five business days.

Analyzing

The real work begins once you receive your response. The responses that make me the angriest go:

“We do not conduct or ask third-parties to conduct any animal testing on products, raw materials or components of finished products unless required by federal or local regulators.” (taken from Clorox’s website)

1) Always look out for the words except and unless!

The above sentence looks pretty good until the last clause. Off the top of my head, I know that Clinique and MAC do this. It makes me so angry, and I wonder why so many people consider these brands cruelty free. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) does not legally require animal testing!

Tangent: While it is true that in some cases the only credible tests for certain ingredients/products do require animal testing by the FDA, all these companies talk about how long and how much money they have put towards finding alternative tests. So why is there no credible alternative test?

2) Did they actually answer my questions?

First off did they answer every question you asked from the bulleted list above? Secondly, did they answer your question or simply say they follow certain guidelines or believe certain things? If so, make sure to research these guidelines thoroughly no matter how legitimate it sounds and beliefs are not legally binding.

In my Revlon post (to the right under October 2011), the company responded by saying not that they don’t test but that they “were in compliance with all European-wide bans on testing of cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients using animals, which are part of the European Cosmetics Directive.” I didn’t have to spend much time doing research before I realized that they could be compliance with these rules and still be animal testing.

3) Too many adjectives?

When I get an email back that contains too many adjectives in general or odd ones with words which usually don’t use adjectives I get suspicious. In some cases, I don’t think I’ll ever know whether some phrases are legally concealing horrible things or if they just had an awkward writer. Whatever the case, if I feel uneasy about something I usually avoid those products.

4) Its alright to cheat!

If you’ve been looking over the email and still aren’t sure, its ok to see what other people think! I often see what some knowledgeable youtubers and bloggers have concluded if I’m having some problems. My sole stipulation is to only take into consideration people who have some reasoning. Make sure the author provides correspondence, links to credible articles, etc. to back up their case. I trust and recommend Kristy (veggiebeauty) who has a great list. Although she doesn't discuss each brand, she lists the requirements to be on her list.

Remember: It’s not tedious, it just requires some thought and foresight!

Are Samantha Chapman's Real Techniques Brushes Cruelty Free?

One of the most popular youtube beauty items of 2011 was undoubtedly the Real Techniques brushes released by Samantha Chapman of pixiwoo. I have been watching Sam and Nic’s channel for a while, and they claim to be cruelty free. To make a long story short: They aren’t cruelty free.

When I first tried to be cruelty free, I only used products Nic and Sam applied since they claimed to be cruelty free. With a little research, I quickly realized almost every single brand they used in their videos was not cruelty free. Obviously they have no malicious intent, but it called into question their research and their dedication to being cruelty free.

So when Sam announced she was creating a cruelty free brush line I had reservations about the product. As I will discuss later, her brushes are undeniably cruelty free, but I was worried about the parent company Paris Presents Incorporated. Their most popular subsidiary is ecotools. A full list of Paris Presents Incorporated’s additional subsidiaries can be found here.

While it appears that Paris Presents sells mostly synthetic brushes (EDIT: some of their subsidiaries do sell animal hair brushes), I didn’t understand exactly what some of their subsidiaries sold so I wanted to make sure they are cruelty free. I sent off my usual email and received this response:

“Paris Presents, Inc. does not subscribe to any animal testing on our finished products or individual ingredients. With today’s huge bank of safety tested ingredients and several alternative methods to animal testing available, we find it unnecessary to conduct animal safety studies on our products or ingredients.

In those cases where chemicals may have never undergone safety screening, and we believe there is a reasonable basis to question the safety of such an ingredient, we take two paths. First and foremost, we try to avoid the use of such ingredient. Secondly, in some instances where the ingredient is vital to the performance of the product, we conduct other (they put this in bold) types of laboratory testing, but do not conduct testing on animals.”

Customer service satisfactorily answered whether their finished products and ingredients were animal tested but did not overtly address the possibility of third party testing. I believe the second paragraph was meant to address this and to reinforce the statement in the first paragraph that their products are not animal tested. I am always overly paranoid about these things so I took a look around their websites. Ecotools has a line with Alicia Silverstone, the ultimate ethical vegan celebrity, and this made me feel a lot better about the company.

I will continue to purchase from Paris Presents/Real Techniques.

The Real Techniques line of brushes are, as stated previously, definitely cruelty free. These brushes have Taklon bristles; Taklon is a synthetic material and therefore cruelty free, but it also has many other benefits.

Taklon is:

· Cruelty free

· More Sanitary

· Provides better application

An article on Taklon makeup brushes is available here to provide more in depth information. With all the information just in this article I’m surprised that any company would still make brushes with animal hair.

I own a few of the Real Techniques brushes for face and eyes, and I thoroughly enjoy them. In the US, they are very affordable and available at Ulta. They are great quality, amazingly soft, and provide great makeup application. I recommend them to anyone who needs a great, affordable, and cruelty free brush!

Is Burt's Bees and Clorox Cruelty Free?

This is going to be a complicated post regarding Burt’s Bees and Clorox. Burt’s Bees is a company approved by Leaping Bunny. However, Leaping Bunny lists Burt’s Bees with a little purple square signaling that they are owned by a parent company that does animal test. Clorox is Burt’s Bees animal testing parent company.

For a full list of The Clorox Company’s other subsidiaries, click here.

Burt’s Bees is readily available across the US in places ranging from cosmetic shops to grocery stores and my own university’s book store. It is clearly labeled as cruelty free with both the Leaping Bunny image and an additional “We do not test on animals.”

In the FAQ section of their website they state:

“Burt’s Bees does NOT conduct product or ingredient tests of any kind on animals. A few of our products contain ingredients derived from animals such as beeswax, royal jelly, milk and carmine.”

I like how quickly they communicate their policies and let consumers know that they carry vegan products. I emailed their customer service to see what additional information they could provide me and received a lengthy reply:

“Thank you for contacting us with your inquiry. Burt's Bees has never and will never test on animals. We respect animals and don't believe they should be used in this way. It isn't necessary for the development of our products, and it isn't in harmony with our commitment to The Greater Good. We also ask all of our suppliers to uphold our core beliefs, which include no animal cruelty and no animal testing. Additionally, we are certified under the Consumer Information on Cosmetics' (CCIC) Leaping Bunny program. One of the core requirements of the Leaping Bunny program is that the company and vendors are both investigated to achieve certification.

Please note that Burt's Bees operates as a semi-autonomous business unit of the Clorox Company and they are aware of, and fully support, our position on animal testing, as they are also committed to the welfare of animals. For Clorox, animal testing is a rare exception, used only when required by law or when all other efforts have been exhausted to establish a product's safety profile. If you would like to read Clorox's full policy on animal testing, please use the following url: http://www.cloroxcsr.com/products-safety/.”

Let me first say, I like that they were upfront about being a subsidiary of a company that animal tests. As you will see later in this post, the second paragraph essentially summarizes the animal testing statement on Clorox’s website. The information provided in the link basically says that they do test but apparently not finished products.

I emailed Clorox’s Customer Service because I was unable to find any information regarding their animal testing policy (I emailed Burt’s Bees and Clorox at the same time so I had not yet been sent the link with this information).

“At Clorox, we are committed to providing consumers with products they can trust when used as directed. Before reaching market, our products undergo rigorous safety testing and careful evaluations by highly qualified, skilled scientists. Except where mandated by law, using non-animal product safety evaluations is the norm at Clorox and animal testing is the exception. The vast majority of our products reach the market without testing on animals.

To further demonstrate our commitment not to use live animals, we recently updated our product safety testing policy to require senior management approval of any discretionary animal testing. Rare exceptions to the no animal testing policy, if any, will only be considered when all other efforts have been exhausted to establish a product's safety profile. The updated policy may be found on our Web site at www.TheCloroxCompany.com in the Corporate Social Responsibility section.

For more than 20 years, Clorox has been assessing alternatives to animal testing and working with industry groups and regulators on the issue. We believe that the science today firmly supports the efficacy of alternatives, and are committed to working toward a future where animal testing has no role in product development.”

I do like that Clorox is upfront about the fact that they do animal test (even if it is “the exception”) because so many companies try to hide this information under paragraphs of misinformation. On the other hand there are two major issues for me. Why does this email specify that Clorox does “not want to use live animals?” I’m not any more alright with Clorox if they kill animals and then test on them. Secondly if they believe in “the efficacy of alternatives” why do they still animal test even when it is not “mandated by law?” (Simply because it is not “the norm” doesn’t mean that Clorox only tests for legal reasons.)

I no longer purchase Burt’s Bees products and will now stop purchasing from all of Clorox’s subsidiaries. Although Burt’s Bees is cruelty free, the money I give them goes to Clorox. I would rather spend my money supporting companies and brands that are 100% cruelty free on every level.

This is clearly a case of how comfortable you feel when buying cruelty free products, and I suggest that everyone seriously consider whether or not they believe giving money to Burt’s Bees funds Clorox’s animal testing.

Some Cruelty Free and Vegan Favorites

I wanted to share some of my favorite cruelty free and vegan things I’ve been enjoying recently! I don’t buy a lot of things on a regular basis, so this will be a mash up of some products, entertainment, bloggers, etc.

The Naked Palette

***Edit:  As of November 2012, Urban Decay will become a subsidiary of L'oreal and will no longer meet my cruelty free standards.***

I got this palette from Urban Decay a while ago but never really used all the colors. However, with the recent holidays this was great! I like how I can keep wearing neutrals with this palette but branch out a little with their shimmer and glitter shades. If I was running late to a party, I didn’t have to think too much about what colors I was using because they all look great with one another as well.

Derma e Vitamin A Retinyl Palmitate Wrinkle Treatment Crème

I’ve been using this product for a while, and I love it! As a very pale lady, I use this to get rid of dark spots caused by acne scars and other discoloration. It also helps to control acne. This works better than the retinol creams I used before going cruelty free and is very gentle for my sensitive skin. 

*I will giving a more in depth overview in an upcoming post.

Individual Smoothie Maker

I’ve really been enjoying this tiny blender I got for Chanukah. It is tiny enough for a hefty but individual sized smoothie. When the cup is unscrewed from the base, it becomes a travel mug. A top is included but does not lock onto the mug which makes me slightly nervous. However, this works so much better than a large blender and is much more convenient and well priced!

Nature’s Baby Organics Face and Body Moisturizer

I recently switched over to this moisturizer for the colder winter months. This vegan product has great ingredients and makes my skin feel amazing. While it is very moisturizing, this lotion is very light and absorbs into my skin quickly.

*Disclaimer: I live in the South East USA so it doesn’t get incredibly dry and/or cold. I will also give a more in depth overview in an upcoming post.

Shit Vegans Say I am loving this video by arionthedaily! If you are vegan, you will laugh your butt off! He also has a sequel on his youtube channel.

New Year's Resolution

For the past few years I’ve stopped myself from making any resolutions. I don’t know whether it was my extreme youth or half heartedness when making previous resolutions that caused me to fail each year. I’m not sure if this is a purely American thing but every January it seems that every gym in the country has 10 times more commercials than usual attempting to get people who resolved to lose weight to sign a year long contract before said people go back to Krispy Kreme in February. New Year’s resolutions seemed like an empty promise people made to themselves, but this year I’m feeling differently.

This year I’m feeling motivated and think a New Year’s resolution is the kick in the pants I need to keep doing what I’ve already started. Being out of classes and not working much I’ve kind of gotten lazy about a lot of things I started this year. I did finally volunteer at a great no- cage, no-kill animal shelter by my house and do some reading for my thesis next semester but that’s about it. I’ve gained back 4 lbs sitting around the house eating latkes and watching every daytime tv show.

So I’m resolving to:

• Get my diet back on track with lots of yummy fruits and veggies
• Continue volunteering at least once a month at the animal shelter
• Starting January, post to this blog at least every other Friday
• Keep up my recycling and upcycling
• Stop panicking about grad school applications

I’m going to keep this post short, sweet, and to the point. I will have a new post up by January 6 at the latest!

Are you going to make any resolutions for 2012?

Going Vegan

I've been putting off this post for a while but now I think its time to announce I've gone vegan! There are a lot of misconceptions as to what vegan food really is like, so throughout this post I have placed photos of vegan food from the blog veganyumyum. Just to be clear the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines veganism as:

“a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products; also : one who abstains from using animal products (as leather)”

This diet excludes eating eggs, butter, any dairy, and obviously all dead animals, and the lifestyle means excluding all animal products including suede, wool and in products lanolin and carmine.

Its been about 3 1/2 months since I started, so I think I can discuss this subject with some mild proficiency. Before I start let me clarify that I am working on a vegan lifestyle which includes food but also clothing, products, etc. However in general, most posts will still be beauty related. All vegan products I buy are still cruelty free! This post will cover a few topics within the vegan category just to lay the ground work for some later posts. I will continue creating posts regarding animal testing!

recipe

To start with, I want to share why I made such a dramatic change. I know that people adopt a vegan diet for many reasons, most commonly: ethical, health, and environmental reasons. It will come as no surprise that I changed my diet for ethical reasons first and foremost. The more I learn about factory farming, the more disturbing and inhumane I find it. When a person eats meat there is the undeniable knowledge that an animal has suffered, but people do not associate this same suffering with dairy, eggs, honey and other animal products but it is most certainly there. This is why I decided to become vegan, not simply vegetarian or limit my intake of these products.

Jo-Anne McArthur, a Canadian photographer and animal rights activist, has an amazing but graphic photo gallery that illustrates human relationships with animals. The "Dairy and Veal Farm" gallery shows some of the reasons why I will not purchase dairy products. Due to the graphic nature of a few of the galleries, please exercise good judgment as to whether you believe you should view them or not. I definitely do not believe you need to see any graphic images to make humane changes in your lifestyle. I personally did not see these photos until very recently.

recipe

Yes, it was very hard at first! But I've only been vegan for 3 1/2 months and I feel so comfortable with it already that I don't think I will ever go back. I never considered myself a vegetarian, but I simply almost never ate meat only some fish a few times a month. Therefore, my diet consisted of a large chunk of dairy products, processed foods, and a small area of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. While I rarely ate out or ingested a lot of sugary foods, I did not have a healthy diet. Because so much of my diet consisted of dairy and I stopped “cold-turkey” I actually had withdrawal symptoms for 9-10 days. I was irritable and had headaches almost this entire time.

recipe

On the bright side, I have lost a total of 18 lbs since going vegan. It has been very easy, and I’ve even indulged in vegan french fries and sweets every now and then. Over the years I’ve given up on a lot of diets for one reason or another, and even though veganism may be the (at first) toughest one I’ve tried, it has been the most successful. Because I came to veganism for ethical reasons, to me there is so much more at stake when I chose what I want to eat. This makes it exponentially easier for me to stick to this diet and lose weight.

I know that many people become vegan simply for health reasons. I’ve watched the documentary Forks over Knives which discusses the China Study. I personally have felt less sluggish and tired after eating and in general. I haven’t notice a humongous change, but the 2 times I ended up cheating I felt so physically ill afterwards! I think different things work for different people, and a well planned vegan diet is a healthy option. I met with my general practitioner about my diet changes and discussed any supplements I should take a week after I began my new diet.

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There are some obvious environmental impacts of being vegan but I’m not exactly sure how much these factors into determining your carbon footprint. Obviously cows produce methane and the number of cows produced to support factory farming weighs heavily on the environment. In addition there is all the animal waste and transportation pollution. I can’t remember where I heard this but all the grain fed to animals raised simply to be slaughtered could feed either every human on the planet or every human suffering from malnutrition three times! To me, any change no matter how little adds up and is important. Going vegan has also encouraged me to be more vigilant in my current recycling program increase my amount of “upcycling”.

recipe

I will continue my regular posts but will now be including more vegan information on products. I will also be sharing the love with some helpful cruelty free and vegan links, apps, and info I've found over the past few months.

Happy Holidays!