Vegan Products for Your Home

Introduction
When it comes to living a vegan lifestyle, you can have your cake and eat it too, as long as it is vegan cake, that is. Nowadays, there are a plethora of vegan products in stores around the world, but you won’t find all of them in the food department. As our awareness of animal sentience has expanded we have continuously found ways to create everyday goods without the use of animal parts and products. You can join the movement to choose vegan products when purchasing items for your home.

Furniture
You may need “fur” to spell furniture, but you can leave it out of your dwelling. Shannon Scott, a vegan interior designer, highlights that a vegan home would require us to reevaluate our potential desire for taxidermy as well as cowhide, leather, suede, and wool furniture pieces. Though saying goodbye to such fabrics and materials may sound like a difficult task, it’s actually quite easy. Even prestigious fabrics such as silk have alternatives. Artificial silk, commonly referred to as art silk, is made of rayon and bamboo viscose. There are also a variety of mercerized cotton and polyester fabrics to choose from. Choosing these quality, animal-friendly fabrics we help to save silkworms who are killed when harvesters force them to emerge from their silk cocoons prematurely. These choices are usually less expensive too!  

When it comes to leather couches and recliners, faux leather is the way to go. By choosing faux leather, we refrain from contributing to the negative impacts of the industrial livestock industry as well as the animal skins industry. This is simply one way that we can decrease greenhouse gas emissions and water pollutants which in turn harm animal habitats. These faux leather products have become so popular that they are now being used in luxury cars like Ferrari’s California T. There are also websites, like vegandesign.org, that make shopping for vegan furniture and decor fun and easy. They provide a staff of individuals that research products and verify their vegan status.

Household Cleaning Products
Even Spring cleaning can be animal-friendly. There are a variety of brands that focus on providing consumers with cruelty-free, vegan cleaning supplies. Method is a vegan company that offers all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, mop solutions, degreasers, laundry detergent, and more. Sun & Earth, another vegan company, supplies an array of products including biodegradable surface wipes. Mrs. Meyers is yet another cleaning supply company that creates vegan products. Method and Mrs. Meyers are also Leaping Bunny certified. When a business has acquired Leaping Bunny certification they have implemented practices that avoid animal testing for all of their products.

Most of these products are affordable and last a long time, however, it doesn’t require much money to create your own vegan cleaning products either. A mixture of white vinegar, baking soda, and water can be used clean almost anything. Rinse out and reuse an average cleaning solution spray bottle. Pour in ½ cup of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of baking soda, then fill to the top with water. There you have a generic cleaner for your home. If you like your cleaning solutions to leave a more pleasant scent, mix in a few drops of essential oils.

Clothing
Let’s not forget about your closet. Clothing companies like Toad & Co. construct clothing made of organic cotton, tencel, recycled polyester, and hemp. They offer shirts, sweaters, skirts, dresses, and even leggings. If you’re looking for more casual clothing, Plant Faced has got you covered. Plant Faced creates and distributes skate and surf wear using vegan and cruelty-free standards. The Herbivore Clothing Company designs fashionable tees that allow consumers to wear their veganism on their sleeve. They even have an “Eat Like You Give A Damn” clothing line.

Vegan and cruelty-free clothing companies are sprouting up everywhere. As you search for new fashion, check the label and keep an eye out for these socially-minded businesses and support them. Check out this link from Compassionate Closet that provides a comprehensive list of fabrics and materials and indicates whether they are vegan.

Find What Works in Your Home
You can find hundreds and hundreds of vegan household products in markets everywhere. Try one of the brands mentioned above or discover new ones. Just be sure to read the labels. If a product is labeled as “vegan” that simply means the product was not made using animal ingredients. If a product is labeled as “cruelty-free” the product’s ingredients or final result was not tested on animals. Ideally, you’re looking for goods that meet vegan and cruelty-free standards.

As you sort through your current belongings, you may find items that were made using animal ingredients. When deciding what to do with these non-vegan products you have multiple options. You could use the item until it is no longer usable. Once you’ve used the product until it is unserviceable, switch to the vegan, cruelty-free option. If you are too excited to wait to make the switch, consider donating your goods to others. By doing so you are preventing the purchase of new animal-based products and lessening further damage to animals and their environment.

SOURCES: Redfin; Veg News; Plant Faced Clothing; Toad & Co.; Urban Vegan; Method Home; Sun & Earth; Leaping Bunny; Quartz; The Vegan Woman; Vegan Design