Have you stopped eating (or are thinking about eliminating) meat and dairy in your diet? Are you trying to buy cruelty-free makeup, cruelty-free cosmetics, and cruelty-free fashion as you embrace a plant-based diet or veganism? If yes, here are some interesting things that you need to know.
What does cruelty-free mean?
In a nutshell, the concept of cruelty-free means that the products have not been tested on animals or contain any animal-based ingredients. If a brand is selling cruelty-free makeup products that claim to be vegan, for instance, it means that they do not contain any animal ingredients, not even gelatin or beeswax.
How Well do you Know the Makers?
The cosmetics industry has a long history of testing products on animals. So, you may not know, but the mascara or eye shadow palette you’re using might have already been used on an animal.
The practice of testing cosmetics on animals was created somewhere in the 1930s. Fortunately, there is more awareness now and better ways have been identified for testing. However, very few manufacturers are using these techniques to produce cruelty-free cosmetics. Make sure you check the history of the cosmetic manufacturer and read all product labels carefully. Those using safe ingredients and advanced non-animal safety tests mention it on their products and label it as ‘cruelty-free’.
Does it contain any Secret Ingredients?
Even if you decide to use products that are not tested on animals, there’s a chance that the product you buy contains an animal-based ingredient. It is essential that you carefully look at what’s actually in your makeup.
Many cosmetic brands use animal byproducts. These ingredients have also been extracted by harming animals and they are also not cruelty-free. Do thorough research on the ingredients in your cosmetics. You can also find a list of cruelty-free brands online to know which products are safe and which are not.
Say Hello to Cruelty-free Fashion
Plant-based or vegan lifestyle does not support the exploitation of animals in any way. Therefore, the lifestyle promotes cruelty-free fashion, which means that the clothes you wear must also not be made of any animal products such as leather, wool, etc. While a lot of animal produced fabrics are considered soft and warm, they are made at the expense of an animal. It is easy to buy clothes and fabrics that do not contain any animal fabric because the alternatives available in the market are plenty and all you need to do is make a conscious choice.
