VEGAN ≠ PLANT BASED or CRUELTY FREE
Whether you are a staunch vegan for years, or recently started integrating meatless Monday meals as a beginner vegetarian, you can single handily make a difference on your carbon footprint by supporting animal free meals. The University of Oxford revealed in a 2018 study , by cutting meat and dairy products from your diet, you could reduce an individual's carbon footprint from food by up to 73%. The positive impact is obvious, so its no mystery why eco conscious consumers are souring vegan for all consumed products.
Veganism in all aspects of home and beauty started to trend along with the need for being cruelty-free. This all sounds pretty fantastic right? This began the boom of vegan product claims and became a badge of honor for beauty, fashion, and home. Problem is, terminology for vegan in food doesn’t equal plant-based, it merely means no animal products. Since synthetics and plastics are not readily ingestible in food there was much more material confusion in beauty. Everything from silicones to plastics were getting a greenwashing and now being advertised as vegan.
Let's make it perfectly clear: Vegan beauty means the absence of animal ingredients, while cruelty-free refers to a product that doesn’t test on animals. It is possible for a vegan item to have been tested on an animal and to contain silicones and plastic technologies.
If the goal is to be overall sustainable then all materials are not created equal for swapping out typical animal products with a vegan-friendly option. Check out our list HERE of plastic technologies. By eliminating plastic from our products, we can promote a more sustainable zero waste and circular system within skin care. We share some of our favorite questions to ask before making a brand purchase.
VEGAN & SUSTAINABLE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
- Certified? Check for certifications by independent companies like peta and Leaping Bunny.
- Packaging Materials? Dig into the aspects of all packaging. If a company makes plastic-free claim make sure the brand creates a definition of what this may encompass. Just be aware most products touting bamboo still have plastic, nearly all jars still have a foam or Styrofoam seal, all droppers and bottles have a plastic lid and seal. Refill and Reuse is always better than single use. We decided to go to the highest level of standards by ensuring plastic free AND refillable.
- Ingredients? Ask brands to be authentic and transparent to help origin on their ingredient listing. We name many ingredients in our plastic free strive zero waste blog you can use if you are not as familiar with what to look for. Since items are listed by registered chemical names this can be an intensive process. Ask the brand or use resources like EWG.com to do some research if you are questioning origin or a material.
Comment to let us know your thoughts and continue the conversation. We would love to hear from you.
Great Additional Reads
https://theecologist.org/2019/jan/28/vegan-fashion-versus-sustainable-fashion
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/style/why-you-should-care-about-vegan-beauty.html