I am not a vegan

[Vorpal]

: Oldjohnw wrote
Pardon my ignorance (I have never looked into veganism: I am mainly vegetarian with a once a week small amount of meat/fish) but what do vegans do for footwear?
Plenty of non-leather footwear around. I'm sure if you called in at your local shoe-shop and asked a few questions, they'd be happy to advise.

But what are they made of? I'm not interested in buying non-leather footwear personally. Just interested intellectually.

Plastic and rubber, cotton, synthetic cloth, etc.

https://www.livekindly.co/california-be ... ter-boots/

[Ben@Forest]

That is correct. Many makeup ingredients have in the past been tested on animals. I'm not aware of any companies that sell products made of ingredients that have *never* been tested on animals.

Sodium hexametaphoshate is a good example. It's widely used in cosmetic and dental products, body lotions and moisturisers. And easily found on the internet:

.. chronic studies using animals, growth inhibition, increased kidney weights (with calcium deposition and desquamation), bone decalcification, parathyroid hypertrophy and hyperplasia, inorganic phosphaturia, hepatic focal necrosis, and muscle fiber size alterations. Sodium Hexametaphosphate was a severe skin irritant in rabbits...

[Oldjohnw]

Plastic and rubber, cotton, synthetic cloth, etc.

So in some cases not exactly environmentally friendly, then. Lesser of two evils? Or just the simple fact that we have to compromise all the time.

[Vorpal]

Plastic and rubber, cotton, synthetic cloth, etc.

So in some cases not exactly environmentally friendly, then. Lesser of two evils? Or just the simple fact that we have to compromise all the time.

Some vegans, I imagine are pickier about that sort of thing than others. I know that some people look for things made from all plant based materials, and others look for things from recycled or repurposed materials.

I guess one could never wear anything but clothes from hand-woven and home grown hemp, or something, but it seems to me that unless one wants to become an entirely self-sufficient hermit, at some point, all but the most extreme vegan environmentalist will choose practicality.

[Cyril Haearn]

I know folks who are *extremely* careful not to buy or use anything made from animals.

Health food stores often sell makeup that is made without animal products, or animal testing.

Surely one could just do without makeup altogether, looks better, saves cash

[661-Pete]

Surely one could just do without makeup altogether, looks better, saves cash

Well, I certainly could.... But on the other hand, I do use stuff like soap, shampoo, shaving cream. That could have been animal-tested. And there's a lot of palm oil involved, which itself leads to environmental destruction in many parts of the world.

Sometimes you just can't win. I could grow a beard. I could, I suppose, not wash. Not gone down that route .... yet!

[ThePinkOne]

Maybe try Lush- they do some vegan options made without palm-oil. Not cheap but their stuff tends to last ages and uses a lot of recycled/minimal packaging. (I tend to order a bunch of stuff on-line once or twice a year as my autistic senses find their shops a bit overwhelming).

Also- you don't need much soap to stay clean. Cleansing body rubs are another option, and can be home-made. In fact when I was a child, to help my eczema, my parents were specifically told to stop using soap on me every day, use only once a week or so, and to use a cleaning rub other days. My mother was horrified as she was of the "scrub em with strong soap" persuasion, but it helped a lot and even these days I am careful to minimise soap use.

You can get other natural products- I use deodorant from "The Natural Deodorant Company," is made from basic ingredients like bentonite clay, arrowroot, bicarb of soda and coconut oil. It is just as effective as any advanced anti-perspirant I have ever tried and less soreness/itchy rash.(They do unscented as well as essential-oil based frangranced versions which would suit most preferences).

I don't wear makeup- as much a philosophical thing of being me not what society says I must look like as "female."

Being environmentally conscious in your personal care doesn't necessarily mean being hair-shirted- just identifying alternatives and using what is required rather than an excess.

TPO.