January is here and with it comes Veganuary, an annual challenge that asks people from around the world to commit to a vegan lifestyle for 31 days. While we’ve spoken before about the benefits of adopting a vegan diet, we thought this January would be the perfect time to shine a light on more aspects of a vegan lifestyle so you can take your Veganuary commitment to the next level!
Clothing
Leather, skins, wool, angora, cashmere, fur, silk, and down feathers are all materials commonly used in the fashion world that are not considered vegan. For example, silk (the fiber that silkworms weave to make their cocoons) is obtained by boiling silkworms alive inside their cocoons! Thankfully, there’s no need for us to wear these materials and technological advances mean there are plenty of ways we can enjoy the same beautiful look and texture without harming animals. You can look for a “vegan leather” label on clothing tags, choose faux fur rather than real fur, and select vegan fabrics made from materials like twill, cotton, and recycled polyester.
Home Decor
As we mentioned before, down feathers are considered non-vegan; this is because they are often obtained by plucking live birds or as a co-product of the meat industry. Therefore, one way you can make your home a more vegan-friendly space is by opting for duvets and pillows filled with recycled PET rather than down feathers.
It’s also important to consider how the candles in your home are made. As paraffin wax can be environmentally-damaging, many brands choose to make their candles with beeswax instead. While this may be a more eco-friendly alternative, it’s not considered a vegan one. We recommend choosing coconut or soy wax candles instead. These candles allow you to enjoy a clean burn and the knowledge that no animals were involved in the making of your home fragrance.
Paint is another home decor element to consider. Animal testing is still widespread across many industries, and paint is one of the products that’s often tested on animals. To make sure your choice is cruelty-free, look for the Leaping Bunny logo on the tin. This certification, which has been given to all our products, lets you know that no animals were harmed in the making of it.
Beauty
When it comes to personal care products like cosmetics, makeup, and skincare products, it’s always a good idea to check the ingredients before purchasing to ensure you’re buying vegan beauty. Honey, beeswax, lanolin, gelatin, and collagen are all animal-derived ingredients and so are considered non-vegan. Unfortunately, other ingredients’ origins are more difficult to determine. For example, natural musk is harvested from the glands of male deer, and glycerin can be sourced from animals. However, our CLEAN CLASSIC Skin is formulated with synthetic Musk, and our new natural deodorant, the CLEAN RESERVE Kakadu Plum Brightening Deodorant, features plant-derived glycerin because the safety of animals is always at the center of what we do!
If you don’t have time to check ingredients, the easiest thing you can do is visit PETA’s Beauty without Bunnies database which lets you search companies and confirm their products are cruelty-free. You can check the Clean Beauty Collective page out here! Spoiler alert: we get the PETA tick of approval!
