For years now, I have been carefully reading labels before putting anything in my shopping cart. Being vegan, I check for the obvious such as milk by-product and whey, and, as I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, being cruelty-free, I won’t purchase any product that contains palm oil. For more information about the problem with palm oil, please follow this link.
What is not so obvious, however, is the exact journey a product will have taken before it reached the store shelf, and what exactly some of those unpronounceable ingredients do to our planet, for example, those in cleaning products.
I don’t have kids, but I still feel a responsibility to making purchasing choices that do not harm the planet, to protect Mother Earth for future generations. From what I’m seeing on social 
media, I’m not the only one who is committed to putting my money where my mouth is, and choosing products that are kind to our planet and its sentient beings.
First, if you’re Canadian, I want to draw your attention to a petition calling for the ban of animal testing in the cosmetics industry in Canada. That this barbaric practice is ongoing in 2016 is beyond me. If you’re as disgusted by this as I am, please follow this link to sign the petition and have your voice heard.
Next, here are some great resources for purchasing cruelty-free products. In some cases, I’ve provided you with a direct link to the site, in others, the site lists companies that don’t test on animals:
Lush: I love their hair care line!
Rocky Mountain Soap Company: They have a fabulous foot butter for cracked heels.
Leaping Bunny: Great resource with a directory of cruelty-free manufacturers.
Global Animal: Another great resource with a directory of companies that do not test on animals.
Lastly, I want to leave you with heart-warming stories of people going big with their cruelty-free lifestyles.
A brother and sister duo opened a vegan butcher shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (There is a short video on Facebook about this.)
Veganz, a totally vegan supermarket opens in London.
An all vegan cheese shop opens in Los Angeles.
I’m looking forward to the day when markets of this kind are available in all cities.
Happy shopping!
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