Do you know if your house is cruelty free?

As you might be aware, it is Plastic Free July and so, on today's journal we are going to focus our attention on the topic of the month linking it to veganism!

We found a study where more than 1,300 UK-based vegans were questioned and shown an info-graphic where 2/3 of them discovered they did have non vegan-friendly items at home.

Moreover, if you are also an environmentalist, you will want to avoid plastic waste as much as possible too, right?

Well, unfortunately, the alternative to certain non-vegan materials, fabrics and fibres is plastic. A quick look to our wardrobes can definitely be an eye opener as we see how polyester, nylon, acrylic, polyamide and sometimes PVC or “vinyl” (considered to be the most toxic of all the plastics that can be found in certain shoes, bags or accessories) are taking over.

Sadly, your principles may clash and an internal war to decide what is more important to you can begin…

Today, we are highlighting some of the most common household items that are non-vegan-friendly and offering you, wherever possible, some vegan and plastic free alternatives. Are you ready?

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1- Plastic Bags

Another good reason to replace plastic bags with other long-lasting materials is that plastic bags contain slipping agents made from animal fat to reduce static and friction in the material.

Also, be weary of bio-degradable or compostable plastic bags.

Loads of businesses are using them as an alternative believing that they would be better than not doing anything at all. However, they do not ask the manufacturer how long it will take the bags to biodegrade, under what conditions, whether it has been proven and what people should do with them once they have them at home. Sadly, they wrongly end up in the recycling bin and as they cannot be recycled, in landfill.

Fabric tote bags are a great long-lasting addition! And if you like art, you will love these hand-painted organic cotton tote bags by amymahoney.art.

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2- Shampoo & Conditioner

Both of these haircare products may contain lecithin taken from animal or dairy sources. In addition to this, most of them come in plastic bottles and even if they are widely recyclable, we are still saying a big NO to them as we find them extremely wasteful and quite frankly, very bulky!

The good thing is that nowadays there are loads of amazing cruelty and plastic-free alternatives!

Check out some of the best vegan solid shampoo bars that we have found:

- Lamazuma

- Earth Kind

- Bottega Zero Waste

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3- Shower Gel & Toothpaste

Shower gels and toothpastes might contain glycerine, usually taken from animal fats.

Good news on this front too! We live in a more conscious world where luckily, being a vegan and fighting plastic waste is easier than years ago.

We recommend you the following toothpastes:

- Truth Paste

- Ben and Anna

- Lamazuma

We also have recently started stocking a fantastic vegan and zero waste body soap from Kleen Soaps that our team has already tested and we couldn't be happier with the results!

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4- Fabric Softener

Fabric softeners contain tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride, animal fats.

For any eco laundry products, we would recommend Fill Refill Co.

You can also try to use essential oils in your laundry!

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5- Razors

You might be wondering, how can razors not be vegan?

Apparently, razors that have a soft moisture strip, to make shaving more comfortable, use glycerin from animal fat.

Fear not! There are loads of reusable cruelty free razors in the market. And one of our favourite environmental friendly brands, UpCircle, has just launched a Vegan and Plastic Free razor!

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6- Perfume

Loads of scents use musk, the secretions from animals like otters, deer or beavers, as a fixative to reduce the rate of evaporation and make the fragrances last longer.

Have you tried to make your own vegan solid perfume?

World of Vegan has a very easy-to-make recipe for it! Let us know how it turns out if you give it a go!

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7- Nail Polish

From fish scales to crushed beetles, a lot of nail polishes use animal products to create certain effects or colours.

Zao Make Up’s Nail Polish is the closest vegan and “plastic free” nail polish that we have found.

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8- Artificially red products

Some products like artificially dyed food or red lipsticks and blushes use cochineal to give them that red colour.

PETA says that it takes up to 70,000 individual female cochineal beetles to produce just 500gr. of dye.

There are many vegan
red lipsticks in the market nowadays, like this certified organic, vegan and plastic free lipstick by Juni Cosmetics.

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9- LCD Screens

A surprising one is LCD screens on TVs, computers, phones or tablets that use animal cholesterol in the liquid crystals in the screens. Unfortunately, the only thing that we can suggest is that you ask before you purchase a device to know whether they have LCD screens incorporated in them.

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10- Condoms

Well, well, well... Who would have said?

Apparently, some latex condoms use casein, which is the key protein found in milk!

We have found some alternatives in the market for you like Hanx Vegan Natural Condoms.

Please remember never to flush a condom down the toilet. They belong in the rubbish to biodegrade.

We are in this together!

Trying to do what you consider the right thing perfectly can be very overwhelming. 

We, the Cuemars team, believe that what we need is millions of people; imperfect vegans and plastic warriors, to make a difference rather than thousands doing it 100% right.

So don’t stress too much, the maximum that you can do is try your best and we love you for it!



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