Vegan Living & Ethical Buying

ard123en · 26 December 2017 at 11:49PM

Is your annual shop Inc in the 20 per week ?

[Deleted User] · 27 December 2017 at 8:28AM

Hi ard123en - no, the annual shop will happen once the stocks have gone, we'll hopefully be spending £20 per week while we are using them up which I estimate will be two months

Our actual food budget is £300 per month but the less I spend on that, the closer I am to my savings target

debtfreeforlife · 3 January 2018 at 3:16PM

Squirrelgirl, that sounds like a fantastic idea - I'm jealous! I used to do something similar at my old house, but now I'm in a flat, I just don't have the space for a big bulk buy so need to do smaller more regular orders. Which is of course more expensive

I've decided to recommit to ordering a weekly veg box from Riverford, which is expensive but I'm also banning myself from takeaways this year, unless I have friends over. So although my grocery bill might go up, my entertainment/takeaway bill will probably go down.

I might look at doing an order direct from Suma to see if that's cheaper - at the moment I go through Ethical Superstore because they have extra stuff that I usually want (white vinegar/baking soda/toothbrushes etc.) and I buy toiletries from Lush. I have stopped using conditioner to reduce costs, and noticed no difference whatsoever from when I did use it!

Ben84 · 6 January 2018 at 9:32PM

debtfreeforlife wrote: »

I have stopped using conditioner to reduce costs, and noticed no difference whatsoever from when I did use it!

A lot of shampoos contain some conditioning ingredients anyway. From using various shampoos, I've also started to suspect those aimed at men tend to be 2-in-1 - even if not said on the label. I think manufacturers know men are a bit less in to hair care on average and just kind of expect it to work. These days I mostly use the Paul Mitchell shampoos, they're ridiculously concentrated, a litre bottle lasts me a couple of years, so I don't actually mind the £20-30 price tag, it's not as crazy as it initially looks. They've never actually done animal testing, and many of their products are vegan, but not all, so I always check the ingredients.

debtfreeforlife · 7 January 2018 at 9:07PM

Yeah, I think so as well, Ben. My father's been using a joint body wash/shampoo for years and his hair looks fine. I won't be going back to using conditioner again, it's just not necessary for me at the moment. And a litre bottle lasting a few years is really impressive!! No way mine would last that long- downside of longer hair!

Ben84 · 8 January 2018 at 4:15PM

debtfreeforlife wrote: »

Yeah, I think so as well, Ben. My father's been using a joint body wash/shampoo for years and his hair looks fine. I won't be going back to using conditioner again, it's just not necessary for me at the moment. And a litre bottle lasting a few years is really impressive!! No way mine would last that long- downside of longer hair!

Hi debtfreeforlife - that's a point, my hair is relatively short, so I might be getting two or four times as many washes out a bottle compared to some people. Also, since I recently bought a bottle (I buy them online) I checked last order date, they're actually lasting about 18 months, not a full two years. I'm still happy with that. A little blob about the size of a 1p coin washes my hair and short beard with lots of lather. Whatever your hair length though, some of the more expensive shampoos do go a lot further than the supermarket types brands I used to use - which narrows or even balances the price difference in the end. I think a lot of people - including me in the past - will think "£30 a bottle! I'm not buying that!" and actually the difference in price isn't so big. I find I can also get by with less if I spend some time working it in properly.

[Deleted User] · 9 January 2018 at 1:48PM

Well I'm already over budget for groceries!!

:rotfl:

I've spent £21.95 on entertainment (houseguest); £48.26 on household/toiletries and £23.31 on food. I'm also about to add almost £80 to that as the ethical superstore has a 20% sale on faith in nature shampoo & conditioner at the moment and I am just about to order the 5 litre bottles of both

It will last me a good few months and will save me a fortune - it's normally £5.08 for 400ml and I'm getting 5 litres for £39.96 :j

My hair is very long, thick and coarse - not having any conditioner on it would destroy it i think!!

I am doing okay at the moment - other than Saturday night and Sunday morning, we have eaten purely from what i already have in store and I am pretty sure that i can continue that for the rest of this week at least - it definitely looks like my main regular expenditure is on soya milk - I was making my own but I just can't seem to get it tasting the way i would like it; perhaps i will have another experiment at the weekend as that would save me shed loads of cash.....

i made another leek & potato soup at the weekend and also a seitan casserole with red wine, potatoes, sweetcorn, leeks and peas. We have eaten the casserole now (finished it at lunchtime) and will have some soup this evening with the rest of the salad (orange, date, apricot, beetroot & macadamia nut) with leaves. I'm considering what to make for tomorrow and Thursday - I'm making injera today for Friday (the wats are already in the freezer) - so it's just some mooching required - I think that I still have some butternut squash in the fridge so I may do squash and red bean saute with sticky coconut rice tomorrow and see what we have leftover for thursday

Right, onwards & upwards!!:D

Ben84 · 9 January 2018 at 3:12PM

squirrelgirl wrote: »

Well I'm already over budget for groceries!! :rotfl:

I've spent £21.95 on entertainment (houseguest); £48.26 on household/toiletries and £23.31 on food. I'm also about to add almost £80 to that as the ethical superstore has a 20% sale on faith in nature shampoo & conditioner at the moment and I am just about to order the 5 litre bottles of both It will last me a good few months and will save me a fortune - it's normally £5.08 for 400ml and I'm getting 5 litres for £39.96 :j

I really like the faith in nature dishwasher gel, it's the best eco-dishwasher product I've tried.

Past few years I have managed to switch to almost entirely ecological cleaning stuff around the house. Personal cleaning stuff, shower gel and shampoo however, I've not really gone green, it's hard enough finding something that suits my difficult skin! But as stuff to put down the drain goes, I've not really found a clear answer on the environmental impact anyway, not much in the way of studies has turned up. Haven't use anything with plastic microbeads in years - but beyond that are non-green face washes and shampoos any worse than green alternatives? I don't yet know.

Well, I haven't knowingly used anything animal tested for a long time - but getting straight answers from manufacturers isn't always easy on that subject. I'd be curious how other people who've been asking have succeeded - or not - with this? Some just never email back. I did send entirely polite emails, so either they got lost or they prefer to remain unclear. I may well turn to some eco-products simply because they're often clearer on this question. Original source however are very clear they don't animal test. Ultradex dental care are clear too that they don't. However, my favourite skin care product - super facialist, have gone from very clear on their website to a bit vague last time I looked. It does appear to have coincided with a site redesign and new copywriting though. They currently state they're "against animal testing" but in the past I've found that hasn't always meant companies never do animal testing. I've just sent them an email asking for more details. Hopefully I get a clear answer, and hopefully it's all good news.

pile-o-stone · 9 January 2018 at 8:22PM

Does any one else still wear leather products, even though they are now vegan?

I have leather shoes, belts and a jacket that I bought before I knew any better. I decided to wear them until they basically wear out and are beyond repair and then replace them with vegan alternatives.

So far since being vegan I have had one pair of leather shoes re-heeled and I have replaced another un-repairable pair of black work shoes with vegan ones. I have just bought 2 new vegan belts to replace 2 split and tatty leather ones.

My other items are in too good a condition to just throw away but they're not in good enough condition to give to a charity shop. Plus it's bad enough to have an animal die to provide these clothes, but worse for it to have died for nothing if I just throw it all away. I don;t really like wearing them though.

I can't wait for them all to wear out and get me away from this moral dilemma!

savvy · 12 January 2018 at 10:34PM

pile-o-stone wrote: »

I have leather shoes, belts and a jacket that I bought before I knew any better. I decided to wear them until they basically wear out and are beyond repair and then replace them with vegan alternatives.

I do this as well, certainly wasn't in a position to replace everything! Not only that, it's not great for the environment hey

Vegan Living & Ethical Buying

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