It’s January, and across the country hundreds of thousands of people are taking part in Veganuary and doing their bit for the planet – as we all should! But, being vegan doesn’t just mean making sure our food is free from animal products, it includes making sure other products we use on a day-to-day basis are vegan, too!
It’s easy to assume most products are vegan but it’s important to check the label before buying and using products that are full of animal derivatives, or have been tested on animals.
Plastic bags
Like we need one more reason to stock up on reusable fabric shopping bags! Plastic shopping bags – as well as being bad for the planet – often contain animal fat to reduce friction and static so they’re easier to separate.
Wine
Not the wine! After a long day at work many of us tend to reach for a glass or two to help relax and unwind.
But wine isn’t just made from grapes. Surprisingly, many brands of wine are made using animal by-products. During its creation, wine is filtered through so-called ‘fining agents’ that are used to help the finished product look crystal clear without any particles. These can be made from bone marrow, fish oil and gelatine.
Thankfully, you can rely on these vegan-friendly wines to get through Veganuary:
La Belle Angele Sauvignon Blanc
Cleaning products
It’s a little-known fact that many traditional household cleaning products contain as many as ten animal-derived ingredients. If you’re attempting Veganuary this January, avoid cleaning products that include the likes of:
Glycerin – typically used as a stain remover, contains rendered animal fats
Tallow – used to create soaps, derived from beef fat
Lanolin – often used in fabric softeners, this wax is secreted by wool-bearing animals like sheep
Thankfully, brands like us avoid using ingredients derived from animal derivatives, creating all of our products from plant based and naturally derived ingredients.
Clothing
We all know that clothing made from the likes of leather and fur aren’t vegan-friendly, but did you know that materials like silk, cashmere, and shearling are also culprits when it comes to creating fashion from animal products?
Whilst silk shirts and skirts are made from fibres spun by silkworms (3,000 silkworms are killed to make one pound of silk), cashmere is created from goat hair, and shearling is made from the skin and coat of a sheep or lamb.
Organic cotton is a safe bet when it comes to vegan clothes shopping. It’s also considered environmentally sustainable, as is linen, hemp, and up-and-coming sustainable vegan ‘leather’ made from pineapple leaves and cork bark.
Skincare and make-up
Whilst the use of animal testing for cosmetics and their ingredients is banned in the UK, some make-up and skincare items contain familiar ingredients that are derived from animal products such as collagen, keratin, and squalene. Are you aware only 19% of people check if their toiletries are tested on animals?
The best way to make sure your chosen product is vegan is to check the packaging – most brands will make sure to let you know if it is!
Want to find out more about what is and isn’t vegan? Take a look at our list of common household products that you didn’t know contain animal derivatives here!
