is vegan or not like soap, shampoo, etc... Are there specific ingredients to avoid? If it's animal tested does it supposed to say on the product and if it's not then is that supposed to written on the product? It's hard to replace all products to only vegan products because they are more expensive in most cases. I replaced my toothbrush. It's going to be a slow transition to be more vegan (impossible to be 100% vegan in this world) when it's hard to find products with good reviews that are not expensive and that are easy to find like sold in physical stores. I am thinking about replacing my computer chair in a couple of months but need to find a vegan one but that also meets many of my requirements.
How can you know whether a product
- Thread starter MobiusX
- Start date
Lou
Forum Legend
There are actually two issues (maybe three) when buying non-food products.
1. is there going to be any animal products in the product? (vegan)
2. was the product tested on animals? (cruelty-free)
3. is the product ethically sourced and manufactured? (ethical)
In some cases, it's very hard to meet all three requirements without looking at something very expensive. In my mind, at that point, the "practical" part of the vegan definition comes up.
A bottle of shampoo or a pair of shoes might cost twice as much but that is within my comfort level. Those things last a long time and if you do a little "pro-rating" in your head it becomes inconsequential. You pretty much have to set your own threshold.
As far as animal products on the ingredients go, I hope maybe some other forum member can point you to a list of things to look out for. I can never remember those things. I have an app on my phone that is called "IsItVegan?" and when in doubt I use that. It's not perfect, tho.
The other thing to look for it one of the stickers that are on labels. There is the "certified vegan" sticker. There is also a number of organizations that certify cruelty free. Leaping Bunny, Cruelty-Free Kitty, and Bunny Free are the best known examples. I think they all have apps now.
Plus if you are at home you can use any of the databases. This one from PETA is pretty good
http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx
I don't think finding a good vegan computer chair will be any problem at all. A lot of the low-end chairs are all synthetic (i'm sitting on one right now). And even some of the high-end ones are.
Check out Polly and Bark's website. And search for "vegan".
1. is there going to be any animal products in the product? (vegan)
2. was the product tested on animals? (cruelty-free)
3. is the product ethically sourced and manufactured? (ethical)
In some cases, it's very hard to meet all three requirements without looking at something very expensive. In my mind, at that point, the "practical" part of the vegan definition comes up.
A bottle of shampoo or a pair of shoes might cost twice as much but that is within my comfort level. Those things last a long time and if you do a little "pro-rating" in your head it becomes inconsequential. You pretty much have to set your own threshold.
As far as animal products on the ingredients go, I hope maybe some other forum member can point you to a list of things to look out for. I can never remember those things. I have an app on my phone that is called "IsItVegan?" and when in doubt I use that. It's not perfect, tho.
The other thing to look for it one of the stickers that are on labels. There is the "certified vegan" sticker. There is also a number of organizations that certify cruelty free. Leaping Bunny, Cruelty-Free Kitty, and Bunny Free are the best known examples. I think they all have apps now.
Plus if you are at home you can use any of the databases. This one from PETA is pretty good
http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx
I don't think finding a good vegan computer chair will be any problem at all. A lot of the low-end chairs are all synthetic (i'm sitting on one right now). And even some of the high-end ones are.
Check out Polly and Bark's website. And search for "vegan".
Lou
Forum Legend
Oh, The Thrive Market is a good place to shop for vegan products. And Amazon now has a "vegan marketplace".
For specific recommendations - just ask us. Like for household cleaning I pretty much just use Method. It's expensive but within my comfort range.
For specific recommendations - just ask us. Like for household cleaning I pretty much just use Method. It's expensive but within my comfort range.
No cosmetics product sold in the EU can be tested on animals - this is illegal in Europe. However, animal testing is mandatory in China, so avoid any company that sells products into the Chinese market (this includes some very well known 'organic' brands). Cruelty-free cosmetics products still might not be vegan - if they're vegan, they usually say so on the label. If memory serves, much if not all of the Dr Organic range from Holland & Barratt is vegan - you can search on 'Dr Organic vegan' to see the vegan products and the prices aren't bad - the quality is excellent.
a lot of these vegan products are more expensive and I can't afford to buy them, a lot of them I will have to keep buying them, it will be thousands of dollars more I have to spend especially if I have to replace all of my personal items I already I have. I already have to pay more for the food I eat like vegan cream cheese and other vegan cheeses that don't last long and I have to keep buying them every week. I can afford that but to replace all of my personal items and other products like shampoo, bodywash (never heard of a vegan one before) and chairs, headphones, etc... it will end up costing thousands of dollars more.
Lou
Forum Legend
IMHO, you don't need to replace a product with a vegan version until the original is used up. So the expenses get spread out in time. I still have leather dress shoes. I hardly ever wear them and they predate my going vegan. I even have an old leather jacket. But my bathroom and kitchen are mostly vegan, now.
In my experience things like shampoo and soap - the cruelty-free versions don't cost much more.
I presently have a Lush shampoo gel which I got for a Christmas present. It's pretty good.
There is also one other thing to keep in mind. You can't be 100% vegan. It's pretty easy to be 90% vegan. So where you draw the line between the two is completely up to you. It's that "practical and possible" thing again. A lot of vegans focus on "personal purity" which is their personal choice. I think a good goal is to be just good enough. Personal purity should not be the goal. the goal is to reduce animal exploitation as much as practical and possible. And that includes staying in your comfort level of expenses.
In my experience things like shampoo and soap - the cruelty-free versions don't cost much more.
I presently have a Lush shampoo gel which I got for a Christmas present. It's pretty good.
There is also one other thing to keep in mind. You can't be 100% vegan. It's pretty easy to be 90% vegan. So where you draw the line between the two is completely up to you. It's that "practical and possible" thing again. A lot of vegans focus on "personal purity" which is their personal choice. I think a good goal is to be just good enough. Personal purity should not be the goal. the goal is to reduce animal exploitation as much as practical and possible. And that includes staying in your comfort level of expenses.
TofuRobot
Forum Legend
There is an app called "Is It Vegan?", but I've never tried it. I usually rely on the label specifically saying so, or I just look it up on the Skin Deep site
The best thing I've found in terms of skin care is coconut oil, which is definitely vegan, and it's *way* cheaper than buying bottled products with chemicals 'n' stuff I can't pronounce and having to look up all of the ingredients. I've seriously not had a problem finding stuff that is cruelty-free/vegan. It's really not that much more expensive, IMO.
The best thing I've found in terms of skin care is coconut oil, which is definitely vegan, and it's *way* cheaper than buying bottled products with chemicals 'n' stuff I can't pronounce and having to look up all of the ingredients. I've seriously not had a problem finding stuff that is cruelty-free/vegan. It's really not that much more expensive, IMO.
Firstly, don't replace your existing stuff unless it's worn out or used up, but when you buy new products, buy vegan ones. It's so easy to make your own vegan cream cheese, why buy it? (Try the Fuss Free Vegan book for fantastic cheese recipes). Lavera makes over 100 vegan toiletries that are low-priced and Lush items aren't expensive. Overall, being vegan is cheaper than being a carnist - we live pretty much on pulses, rice and vegetables, all of which are dirt cheap - you don't have to go down the tofu/nooch/vegan sausage route if you don't want to.
I don't even cook. I don't have time to make my own cream cheese, my own shampoo, my own facewash, my own toothpaste, my own everything, that's ridiculous. That's why they are made and sold and that's why I buy them. The only time I ever tried to make something is when a vegan put an idea in my head to make my own hummus. The experience wasn't a positive one. It didn't taste not even half as good as what I buy even though I put the same ingredients and it also only lasted 3 days then I had to throw it away so waste of money and waste of time. Now I just buy it. Until they start making better and inexpensive vegan products, that's when I'm going to start buying them when them. So far I can't even find a vegan facewash to buy and I been looking online the whole week. So replacing all my items to vegan ones is going to be very hard.
A: no-one is suggesting that you make your own toiletries - numerous people on here have suggested brand names to you.
B: if you can't be bothered to cook and you can't be bothered to spend the money to buy vegan products, then you won't have much success in being vegan - you have to make a commitment in either time or money.
C: no-one needs facewash. Just rub some oil on your face (castor oil is good but any old vegetable oil will do) and take it off with a hot flannel. Or just use the flannel, with no oil at all. You don't have to make life difficult for yourself.
B: if you can't be bothered to cook and you can't be bothered to spend the money to buy vegan products, then you won't have much success in being vegan - you have to make a commitment in either time or money.
C: no-one needs facewash. Just rub some oil on your face (castor oil is good but any old vegetable oil will do) and take it off with a hot flannel. Or just use the flannel, with no oil at all. You don't have to make life difficult for yourself.
You're just a troll. I can't be bothered with you any more.
Lou
Forum Legend
Not sure about the Troll designation, but has anyone noticed that lately some people coming in here for advice are very ..... hard to please?
Lou
Forum Legend
IsItVegan is pretty good but it's not perfect. There are some errors or mistakes in it. but mostly in that it will say something isn't vegan when it is. Which as long as it's going to make mistakes - that is the better kind. But maybe it knows something I don't.
For me, I have to get my iPhone out to turn on the magnifying glass to read the ingredients, anyway. and with the barcode reader in IsItVegan, it is just as easy, maybe easier, to just use IsItVegan.
Forest Nymph
Forum Legend
Just Google it. PETA pays people to do research and write articles specifically on existing products in the Western capitalist system, both mainstream and vegan, in fact this tactic began with their close criticism of big corporations, advising vegans (and vegetarians) what was cruelty-free and/or free of animal ingredients.
I can tell you straight up that some easy cheap buys are vegetable glycerin soaps (they're usually kind of "see through" and pretty colors), Kirkland bar soap (cheap and found in any drug store) and Dr. Bronners (pricier than Kirklands but worth if it if you like aromatherapy and want something to double as shampoo).
Some of those cheap 99 cent or 1.99 shampoos like Suave are technically vegan, they aren't the highest quality, but if you're looking for cheap and vegan, there you have it.
Well known "drug store" lines of cosmetic brands that are vegan are Wet n Wild and ELF.
For toothpaste, yes Tom's of Maine costs more, but you can switch it off with making your own. All you need to make your own toothpaste is coconut oil, baking soda and real peppermint oil. Mix about equal parts of coconut oil and baking soda with a generous amount of peppermint. People were brushing their teeth with baking soda 100 years ago, I've heard stories of people saying their grandpa used nothing else his entire life and died with teeth at 80. I use my own toothpaste a lot. You can add xylitol if you want extra cavity protection, or something like stevia if you thing the basic paste is not sweet enough. I have used this frequently on and off for several years with zero problems. There's already enough fluoride in our water. It also makes so that if I feel like buying a vegan brand in the store, I don't worry as much about the price because I can always make my own.
Same with deodorant. For deodorant I use essential oils and baking soda. Tea tree oil and baking soda is great against strong odors if you sweat a lot or work outdoors, and in colder weather something like frankincense, patchouli, or lavender oil can work. You can also just mix corn starch and baking soda in a jar and apply it to your underarms if you don't like scented products. I have used coconut oil for a base with corn starch, baking soda, and essential oil, but it was sooooo messy, that it's literally easier to 1) apply essential oil drops 2) apply baking soda and go.
....oh gosh I wrote this whole thing out before I realized you were that same guy about the coconut oil face wash. Oh well, maybe this post will help someone else.
I can tell you straight up that some easy cheap buys are vegetable glycerin soaps (they're usually kind of "see through" and pretty colors), Kirkland bar soap (cheap and found in any drug store) and Dr. Bronners (pricier than Kirklands but worth if it if you like aromatherapy and want something to double as shampoo).
Some of those cheap 99 cent or 1.99 shampoos like Suave are technically vegan, they aren't the highest quality, but if you're looking for cheap and vegan, there you have it.
Well known "drug store" lines of cosmetic brands that are vegan are Wet n Wild and ELF.
For toothpaste, yes Tom's of Maine costs more, but you can switch it off with making your own. All you need to make your own toothpaste is coconut oil, baking soda and real peppermint oil. Mix about equal parts of coconut oil and baking soda with a generous amount of peppermint. People were brushing their teeth with baking soda 100 years ago, I've heard stories of people saying their grandpa used nothing else his entire life and died with teeth at 80. I use my own toothpaste a lot. You can add xylitol if you want extra cavity protection, or something like stevia if you thing the basic paste is not sweet enough. I have used this frequently on and off for several years with zero problems. There's already enough fluoride in our water. It also makes so that if I feel like buying a vegan brand in the store, I don't worry as much about the price because I can always make my own.
Same with deodorant. For deodorant I use essential oils and baking soda. Tea tree oil and baking soda is great against strong odors if you sweat a lot or work outdoors, and in colder weather something like frankincense, patchouli, or lavender oil can work. You can also just mix corn starch and baking soda in a jar and apply it to your underarms if you don't like scented products. I have used coconut oil for a base with corn starch, baking soda, and essential oil, but it was sooooo messy, that it's literally easier to 1) apply essential oil drops 2) apply baking soda and go.
....oh gosh I wrote this whole thing out before I realized you were that same guy about the coconut oil face wash. Oh well, maybe this post will help someone else.
Forest Nymph
Forum Legend
It isn't ridiculous. Just curb your habits of watching television or playing video games for 2o or 30 minutes and you'd easily have toothpaste and deodorant. It takes me less than 10 minutes to make toothpaste, I don't have to "make" my deodorant I just apply two inexpensive natural ingredients, and same with washing my face in coconut oil, or if I use a baking soda and vinegar rinse on my hair, it doesn't take ANY "extra time." To pretend like using these basic items or making a grooming product is going to take hours out of your day is utterly absurd.
Also, it's not veganism's fault that you can't cook. Not being able to cook is about modern commercial, consumer society, even for people who eat meat or dairy, this "throw away" mentality is everywhere, so don't be acting like this specific to being vegan. I actually learned to cook long before I was vegan, and I enjoy most of the recipes I make now. Occasionally you make a mistake (like your tragic first attempt at hummus) but that's how you learn. Most people aren't good at something the first time they try, they have to practice, and it's also possible that you should try a different recipe that suits your tastes better. What is delicious to one person may be so-so to another. I can eat spoonfuls of homemade tahini dressing made out of five ingredients (tahini, water, lemon, garlic, salt) without even putting it on anything.
I have used Kiss My Face and Yes To brands both in the past, both are easily found in mainstream urban shopping centers, places like CVS or Target, and are within a reasonable budget. If this is the sort of thing you're complaining about, and you won't use coconut oil or witch hazel or something, you are way too demanding.
I think in order for me to be more vegan there has to be a lot more improvement in the vegan products that are being sold. They are already making improvements when it comes to food, but for hygiene products, not so good. It's a problem when I can't even find the right facewash to buy. Only one of them I found but way too expensive. 3 times more than what I'm already using and it contains less ounces. And this is a product I will have to keep buying. I already have to spend more by buying certain vegan foods like cream cheese and other cheeses.
Forest Nymph
Forum Legend
Vegan products are typically superior to mainstream products. I've never been unhappy with a vegan grooming product, though some are more expensive than others, people have made multiple suggestions about affordable body care. For example checking out PETA lists isn't difficult, and using Kirkland soap and Suave shampoo, or Dr. Bronner's isn't "expensive." I have never had this problem either as a new vegan or as an experienced vegan, and have experienced different levels of financial security during that time.
You don't "have" to buy vegan cream cheese. I usually don't, I only buy it occasionally. You could find a vegan cheese recipe, but then again you refuse to make your own food. At this point I am really beginning to wonder if you are trolling, saying everything is so expensive and not good enough, and that you don't have time to pour baking soda into a jar with corn starch is starting to seem a bit suspect.
Forest Nymph
Forum Legend
Correction, that is "Kirk's Original Coco Castile Soap" - here it is sold at less than $1.50 per bar, and that's on line, I do think you could get it for less possibly in a drug or grocery store.
https://www.swansonvitamins.com/kir...MI8qCKi_ml4AIVQh6tBh0CvgmcEAQYASABEgILrPD_BwE
Kirkland is also cruelty-free, but is a Costco brand, so you'd have to get a Costco card - if you have one, they have a huge variety of grooming products. My old housemate in LA used a lot of Kirkland stuff, that's why I confused it with the Kirk's castile soap.
https://www.swansonvitamins.com/kir...MI8qCKi_ml4AIVQh6tBh0CvgmcEAQYASABEgILrPD_BwE
Kirkland is also cruelty-free, but is a Costco brand, so you'd have to get a Costco card - if you have one, they have a huge variety of grooming products. My old housemate in LA used a lot of Kirkland stuff, that's why I confused it with the Kirk's castile soap.
Similar threads
