DAY 12

I Spy WITH MY Vegan Eye

GOAL FOR THE DAY: Look around your home and make note of any non-vegan products.

Today is super easy! You can even stay in your PJs and slipper socks, since you’ll just be bopping around the house. We’re going to look at two main categories: household items, and household cleaners. By the end of the day, you’ll know which are vegan (hurray!), and which have been created with the undue suffering of others (boo!). Again, it’s really up to you as to how quickly you discard, donate, or regift non-vegan items in your home. You can even choose to use them until they’re used up or wear out, the goal being simply not to buy them again, creating a home that’s filled with everything you need to live comfortably and compassionately.

OK, are we ready to stroll around the house? Grab your vegan cocoa, and let’s go!

1. Create a compassionate living space.

PILLOWS, COMFORTERS, AND DUVETS: Check your bedding for feathers. When it’s time to replace any pillows, duvets, or comforters, look for synthetic alternatives, which will likely have the added bonus of being hypoallergenic as well. I prefer those lined in organic cotton so they’re cooler against the skin.

MATTRESS: When it’s time to buy a new mattress, look on the tag or ask the salesperson if the mattress contains wool or “other fibers,” which might be wool. Non-wool mattresses are easy to find. We bought a non-wool mattress at IKEA for a great price, and when we upgrade, we’ll likely look into a nontoxic, ecofriendly one. As Walter Bader, author of Sleep Safe in a Toxic World: Your Guide to Identifying and Removing Hidden Toxins from Your Bedroom, says, “Mattresses are like cigarettes were in the 1930s, completely unregulated, and everyone thinks they’re safe.”1

BLANKETS: Check for wool fibers. No need to toss Aunt Marge’s hand-knit woolen blankie, but a box full of cruelty-free yarn might be a good idea for next year’s holiday gift.

LAMPSHADES: Look for silk or skin lampshades, and just switch them out for synthetic or plant fibers such as cotton the next time.

FURNITURE: Leather, silk, wool, and other animal fibers abound on couches, chairs and footstools. Just switch them out for cruelty-free options when you’re ready to let go of them. They’re easy to find. They’ll likely be cheaper and easier to keep clean, too. Bonus points? Skip buying furniture made from tropical rainforest trees, such as teak or mahogany. Rainforestrelief.org has a nice list of which woods are best to avoid, as well as great suggestions if you’d like to buy wood from sustainable sources.

CARPETS AND THROW RUGS: Check for wool and other animal fibers. “Oriental” carpets are notorious for having wool in them, but I’ve seen beautiful ones without. IKEA, Amazon, and Overstock.com have them; they’re usually made from an olefin/polypropylene blend. Or better yet, go the natural route and seek out hemp, sisal, or organic cotton rugs. Stone, bamboo, and hardwood flooring are nice wall-to-wall options, too. Whatever suits your little vegan tootsies!

DECORATIONS: Vegans avoid ornamentation that is made of feathers, bones, abalone and other doodads made from animal bits and pieces. When you’re out and about shopping, just try to think about whether or not an animal was used to make whatever you’re buying. And if you see something with a coating that’s particularly shiny as though someone painted it with a frosted nail polish—heads up—it might be fish scales.

CURTAINS AND DECORATIVE PILLOWS: Just be on the lookout for silk, wool, and other non-vegan fibers. When it’s time to replace, consider making them yourself, and go explore a fabric store. You’ll find that there are all sorts of beautiful cruelty-free fabrics. You can turn pretty sheets into curtains and pillows with very little effort, too. Channel that Martha Stewart in you, and have some fun!

2. Learn how to clean without cruelty.

Sadly, just as with cosmetics, many household cleaning products are tested on animals before being sold. I don’t need to make rabbits drink bleach to know I’m not supposed to, or put oven cleaner in their eyes to know that’s a bad idea. Every time I’m at the store and see a “toxic” label on a cleaner, I always think about the animals who were forced to swallow the poison before it made its way to the store shelf. Thankfully, we don’t need to wait for laws to change in order to do the right thing. Ready to clean with compassion? Here’s how to do it!

Let’s take a peek …

UNDER THE KITCHEN SINK: Windex, Easy-Off, Joy, Ivory, Cascade, Mr. Clean, Swiffer, Pine-Sol, Orange GLO, Oxiclean, Pledge, Resolve, Renuzit, and Comet are just a few of the household cleaning items that are made by companies that test on animals. Boo! If they’re under your sink, use them up or give them away, and replace them with cruelty-free versions. OK? OK!

UNDER THE BATHROOM SINK: Lysol, Comet, Soft Scrub, Tilex, Kaboom, Scrub Free, and Scrubbing Bubbles are all made by companies who jam their products into the stomachs, eyes, and/or skin of animals. Let’s push these products aside, too. Good-bye, and good riddance!

LAUNDRY ROOM: Tide, Cheer, Febreze, Oomph, Downy, Oust, Woolite, Gain, Bounce, Clorox, and Shout are all made by companies that test products on animals. Too bad the animals can’t shout, “Let me out!” Until they leave the animals alone, these cleaning supplies are off our shopping list. There’s no need to make someone bleed just to get our laundry clean.

EVERYWHERE ELSE: Here’s a handy database where you can see a list of products that are tested on animals, and those that are not: http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx. If you have other cleaning products in your home that I didn’t list above, just plug the name of them into the search engine to find out if they’re cruelty-free. Easy peasy!

And now for the fun part! Replacing household cleaners with cruelty-free products has never been easier. On the next page is a list of companies to consider as you make your “clean break” from products stained with antiquated animal experiments, to compassionate cleaning. Just a heads up, though, sometimes a “parent” company may still test products on animals, while one of the smaller companies it owns does not. For example, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is owned by S.C. Johnson & Son, a company that not only tests on animals, but also boldly defends doing so. However, Mrs. Meyer’s not only does not test its products on animals, it does not use any animal ingredients either (nice!). It also does not use any chlorine bleach, ammonia, petroleum distillates, parabens, phosphates, or phthalates. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what you’re comfortable with. It’s a fine line with vegans. Some feel that if you boycott all of the products of smaller cruelty-free companies with parent companies that test, then you’re sending the wrong message by not encouraging the big guys to follow suit. If cruelty-free products don’t sell well, what’s the parent company’s incentive to stop testing? Others feel as though the money all goes into the same big pot, so they steer clear of any cruelty-free companies that are owned by a parent company that tests. It’s a bit like the conundrum we talked about regarding miniscule ingredients back when we were sorting through our pantry. When it comes to purchasing cosmetics, toiletries, and household cleaners, just follow your heart, and do what you think is best.

CRUELTY-FREE, VEGAN CLEANING, DISHWASHING, AND LAUNDRY PRODUCTS

Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soaps

Seventh Generation

Method Products (branded as Method)

Earth Friendly Products

Ecover

ECOS

Whole Foods Market 365 house brand

Bar Keepers Friend (soft cleanser and powder)

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day

The Good Home Co. Glass and Surface Cleaner

Trader Joe’s

Citra Solv Natural Cleaner and Degreaser

Biokleen

Or … make your own!

If you want cruelty-free cleaners that are inexpensive and easy to make, you can find an array of simple household cleaner recipes online. It’s amazing what a little vinegar and water can clean, or the scrubbing power of lemon juice with baking soda or salt. Just search “eco-friendly homemade cleaners” and you’ll find all sorts of nifty, natural cleaning tricks!

I know cleaning isn’t as much fun as baking cupcakes, but chin up, buttercup! We’re over halfway there. Congratulations! Now sit back, relax, and we’ll muddle through the closet tomorrow!

Checklist

□ Did you walk around the house and figure out which decorative items, bedding, and furniture aren’t vegan? And give a little thought on how to replace them with cruelty-free alternatives when the time comes?

□ Did you separate your vegan cleaning items from the non-vegan items under your sinks?

□ Did you find new vegan cleaning items to replace the non-vegan items as you use them up or set them aside?

□ Did you consider making a homemade cleaner?

Thought FOR THE Day

No one should have to bleed to get our laundry clean.