Vegan Products - Cruelty Free Shopping

Vegan products are those that are not made from any animal or animal-based product. While many vegetarians consume milk, cheese, eggs, or honey, vegans do not, as these items are made with animal-based products.

Vegan products are not limited to food but also include clothing, which means products made with leather, fur, angora, feathers, wool, and shearling/animal skin are out. This applies to accessories, such as shoes, belts, handbags, wallets, watch bands, and/or pocketbooks.

Vegan products extend into all areas of life and include bedding, linens, tablecloths, auto interiors, furniture upholstery, drapery, cosmetics, and toiletries, to name a few.

While finding vegan products may have been difficult in the past, online shopping has made it considerably easier, faster, and less expensive. You can also purchase some items from resale stores or thrift shops to keep expenses down.

If you would like to eliminate animal and animal based-product items from your diet, it's easiest to start at home. You can easily substitute animal products with the following:

Milk: switch to rice, coconut, soy, or almond milk

Buttermilk: apple cider vinegar mixed with rice milk; or soy milk mixed with lemon juice

Eggs: tofu, banana, apple sauce, mashed potatoes

For butter, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, ice cream, gelatin, marshmallows, meat, poultry, or fish, you can purchase vegan substitutes (see links to the right for additional information about ingredients, substitutes, and recipes).

While many stores carry some clothing that does not contain animal products, certain stores are devoted to carrying nothing but. For a list of stores that are devoted to selling vegan clothing and vegan accessories, please see links to the right. However, you may be able to find better deals online or at discount or surplus stores for the same products.

Animal products to avoid when shopping include: leather, suede, fur, down, animal skin (i.e. crocodile, alligator, eel, snake, sheep, lamb), wool, feathers, angora, and silk.

Clothing, accessories, and housewares that can be made from vegan materials include: jackets, shoes, boots, wallets, belts, handbags, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, socks, comforters, blankets, upholstery (home, boat, auto), and drapes.

Vegan materials may be organic (cotton), natural (hemp), or synthetic. Vegan fabrics also include polar fleece, PrimaLoft (synthetic down), Capilene polyester, and nylon.

Toiletries, cosmetics, and make-up brushes can contain animal products and/or be tested on animals. It's easy to avoid such products and companies with shopping guides that are updated regularly online.

Look for the leaping bunny logo on products that neither contain any animal products nor have been tested on animals. Or see the links to the right for lists of companies that provide cruelty- free cosmetics and products. You can purchase most items either online or in-store.

Animal ingredients to avoid include: carmine, collagen, elastin, honey, keratin, stearic acid, and tallow. Check the label before purchasing. For more information about these ingredients, please see the links to the right.

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