5 Simple Ways to go Cruelty Free Today

1. Look out for the leaping bunny on products that guarantees a product is verified as cruelty free. 
Companies may say they don't test on animals, but sometimes their claims are misleading. Copies that carry the leaping bunny logo (accept no imitations and believe me, there are plenty) need to prove their cruelty free credentials. 

Go to http://www.gocrueltyfree.org/shopper to find cruelty free companies. You can select by country.

Go bananas for Fair Trade

2. If you're buying bananas, chocolate or coffee, make sure it's Fairtrade (also Fair Trade). 
By buying Fairtrade, you are making a real difference to real people's lives. 

Remember though, that milk chocolate can never be cruelty free because the dairy industry kills unwanted calves and that's only one of the cruelties they inflict on cows.

They are paid a fair wage for their work and farmers get a fair price for their goods.

The true face of leather

3. Ditch the leather because it's NEVER cruelty free: it's a by-product of animal slaughter, of the meat industry. 

Get synthetic belts, handbags and shoes instead.

4. Encourage anyone interested in getting a pet to adopt and not buy. 
There are so many animals in need of good homes. 

There's no reason for anyone to buy a pet. 

When people buy a pet they might as well be locking the cage on an unwanted pet at an animal shelter.

5. Make a veggie meal for everyone. 
Let your family/partner/housemates taste how good a cruelty free meal can be.

Remember if it's really cruelty free, ditch the milk and butter. Better for you too. 

It's not that good for you anyway.

A sad day as Urban Decay turn to the dark side

I was very sad to hear that Urban Decay, who were one of the mainstays of cruelty free cosmetics, have decided to sell their products in China. Under Chinese laws, cosmetics and their ingredients that are sold in China must be tested on animals. Urban Decay (isn't that a great name for a company with decaying morals) know this.

Ironically, this is one of the ads still on their company site. Misleading or what?

After their announcement the company has quite rightly lost their Leaping Bunny accreditation. This means that although they are listed in my paper copy of the Little Book of Cruelty Free 2012 they are no longer a cruelty free company.

What Urban Decay say

In their statement (taken down from their site because of their customer's anger at what they're doing), Urban Decay claim that ‘For 16 years, we have been committed to two key causes: women’s rights, and the fight against animal testing’ yet China has an appalling human rights record especially when it comes to women who are treated like second class citizens.

Here’s their ‘it isn’t us, it’s them (the Chinese government)' statement.
They claim they won't make a profit for some time, so they're going their for humanitarian reasons? Of course not, China has over a billion people. It's money Urban Decay want and I personally believe saying otherwise is misleading.

What their customers are saying

Customers have quite rightly vented their anger at this decision on the company’s Facebook page.

What the Leaping Bunny people are saying
The Leaping Bunny program quickly acted and have removed Urban Decay from their lists as well as issuing a statement saying why.

How do I know now if a company is completely cruelty free?
For a free downloadable guide to cruelty free companies (Urban Decay have been removed), go to http://www.leapingbunny.org/shopping.phpthere’s also an option to have the paper version sent to you. I have one and it comes in very handy. It will fit in your purse or back pocket.

I would also advise people to AVOID any products made in China. You can't even trust clothing from China for fear that the faux fur is real fur from cats or dogs.

Choose Organic Splendor for cruelty free cosmetics

Since I started this blog, I have been lucky enough to meet some amazing people. People who believe like me that the world can be a more compassionate place to human beings and animals.

One such company is Organic Splendor. Their handmade mineral make up, bath care and skin care products are completely vegan (the company is run by a vegan) and even better, titanium dioxide free.
You can visit them here

I tried… Superdrug Restoring Skin Care Oil

The first thing you notice about this oil is the smell. Think a summer’s garden. When you use it you feel instantly calm and refreshed. And, unlike most facial oils it’s not greasy and absorbs quickly.

Packaging front view

It leaves my skin feeling smooth and moisturized.

It says on the label that it’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans and is to help the appearance of scars, stretch marks, ageing and dehydrated skin. Well, I don’t have the first two, but I can vouch for this oil making your skin both leak and feel younger and hydrated.

For more details, visit http://tinyurl.com/5wdbg6p

And, remember if you buy this and not some nasty animal tested brand, you are saving the bunnies.

Sorry, but this is available in the UK only at the moment.

Note - This is the first in a regular series of reviews.

It can be so difficult to get cosmetics and toiletries that are genuinely cruelty free. In other words, they are -

NOT Tested on animals – this includes the ingredients and the finished product. Nor do they commission testing on their behalf.

5 Simple ways to go Cruelty Free

There are things we can all do to make this world a kinder place.

Here are just five of them -

1- Don't buy a dog, adopt one. The more people who buy dogs the more unwanted dogs there are.

2- Buy only cosmetics that are NOT tested on animals and check that applies to the ingredients too. This is important, because many companies might not test the finished products on animals, but they will test the ingredients. 

See the Leaping Bunny site for details - http://www.leapingbunny.org/indexcus.php and http://www.gocrueltyfree.org/

3- Never ever, under any circumstances buy fur.There is no such thing as cruelty free fur.

4- Buy Fair Trade products as much as you can. Fair Trade, means the producer and workers have been given a fair price.

5- Use humane rat or mouse traps. These will get pests out of your home alive without harming them.