Vegan Living & Ethical Buying

pinknsparkly

Thanks @savvy I hadn't thought of food co-operatives or Suma. I'll have to look into them! There are a couple of vegan supermarkets that I've found online that I want to check out - the nearest one is about a 45 minute drive though so I'll need to do quite a large stocking up shop to make it worth it!!

Ben84

pinknsparkly wrote: »

Thanks @savvy I hadn't thought of food co-operatives or Suma. I'll have to look into them! There are a couple of vegan supermarkets that I've found online that I want to check out - the nearest one is about a 45 minute drive though so I'll need to do quite a large stocking up shop to make it worth it!!

The downside of driving a long way to buy groceries - something mostly people can buy locally, is that unless you're already in the neighbourhood, your shopping trip is going to use a lot of energy it doesn't need to. Ordering for it to be delivered in the post may be better - although I suppose that rules out things that need to be chilled.

However, a vegan supermarket does sound cool, I wish I had something like that locally. Maybe one day

I tend to either do the shopping while I'm in town anyway - but have limited ability to carry things, so I also do online shopping which is delivered by the supermarket to the house. I find these most time efficient for me, and I believe are pretty energy efficient options. I'm increasingly online shopping with Tesco, I find they have a good range of vegan foods I like. Big supermarkets can be seen negatively in various ways when it comes to animals and the environment, and I don't entirely disagree with many of the concerns I've heard. However, shopping vegan there does help encourage them to stock these products and bring them to more people, and I do believe their delivery system is likely to be most efficient.

Ultimately though, as I don't drive, I've got to shop where I can and supermarkets deliver it to me. No car limits options, but having no car is also good for the environment. It's always a balance really between the options - and even if you have a car, that balance is still the question I suppose when deciding if and when to use it. I wouldn't overly worry about these things myself, but for regular stuff like food shopping I think it's worth considering more as food shopping must account for a lot of car trips for the average person.

[Deleted User]

debtfreeforlife wrote: »

I also keep on using leather items - I used a leather purse and handbag for a long time, and have just replaced them with a Matt & Nat handbag and purse.

On shoes, it's slightly trickier - I do my best, but I'm a woman with size 9 feet so I'm limited in shoe options anyway. I keep re-heeling a few pairs of boots I own, but they're almost at the end of their lifecycle. Can anyone recommend an online vegan store which does non-standard shoe sizes?

I'm a size 9 too. Birkenstocks have vegan shoes in our size (but you either love them, or hate them). Great for sandals though.

[Deleted User]

pinknsparkly wrote: »

Hi everyone!
...- I would go vegan but my husband wouldn't!)..

You can still do it though. My husband is a meat eater. We just have to plan meals more than most people. I was a vegi when we met years ago and turned vegan since we've been together.

pinknsparkly wrote: »

What are everyone's views on the H&M Conscious range? I've been doing some research into ethical clothing brands but am struggling to find opinions on this particular range (which is designed to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly than the standard H&M clothes).

Sorry, not heard of this range. Do they have any more info on their website?

I will need to buy some new clothes soon and so I have been looking at Seasalt, People Tree and the White Stuff as they all make ethical clothing.

[Deleted User]

Ben84 wrote: »

...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.

Sorry - third post in a row!

Original Source showergel actually has the vegan symbol on it too. Love their Rasbperry and Vanilla one.

I use a lot of Sainsbury's toiletries (handsoap, mouthwash etc) as they do not test on animals. Their products all have the bunny symbol on them from the Cruelty Free International (used to be BUAV). They also have a clear statement on their website that they do not animal test too.

TomandBarbara

Hi
I live as ethically as I can, but I am a meat eater. I was a vegetarian for about a year but that was a good twenty years or more ago when my veggie food came from the local health shop.
I was going to try Veganuary but was not organised enough, then decided for lent ( which I don't normally do) I would give up meat and dairy products.
However I have decided thats too much so currently its just meat and milk.
Going to be quite a slow journey I think!
Will also follow this post with interest

Ben84

Spider_In_The_Bath wrote: »

Sorry - third post in a row!

Original Source showergel actually has the vegan symbol on it too. Love their Rasbperry and Vanilla one.

I use a lot of Sainsbury's toiletries (handsoap, mouthwash etc) as they do not test on animals. Their products all have the bunny symbol on them from the Cruelty Free International (used to be BUAV). They also have a clear statement on their website that they do not animal test too.

Yes, that's a good point. Here's their information about it:

https://help.sainsburys.co.uk/help/company-values/animal-testing

They also talk about household products there, and it seems these are ok too. However, still need to check for animal ingredients. I currently don't think they're in many household products - except fabric softener which may have milk proteins in it. Personally, I don't like fabric softener anyway, method laundry liquid seems to work great without it and saves buying another bottle of heavy stuff to carry home.

Super facialist haven't got back to me, and it's been weeks, so I don't know any more at this point. I've started using bulldog branded face wash since then with actually very good results for my skin (they have clear information about not animal testing on their site), so I have an alternative now for face wash, and will keep trying other products as I run out of my current ones. However, I did send another email to super facialist asking again, and who knows, maybe I'll get a reply this time. I appreciate emails can get lost sometimes, but objectively, companies I contact have never emailed back about their animal testing policies. Obviously I'm emailing ones with either no info or not entirely clear info on their websites, so I do wonder what the situation really is? I have doubts about the commonplace "against animal testing" claim made by companies because it doesn't clearly state they never do it, and my emails asking for more details have never been replied to.

I've been asking other people I know how they'd interpret this claim and they have largely been saying they think it means no animal testing, and are surprised I'm doubting this. But I have reasons, the consistent lack of replies when asking about it suggests this may not be the case. I'm working on a letter to the Advertising Standards Agency as I'm wondering if people are buying products under the mistaken impression they're not animal tested when they actually are.

Doom_and_Gloom

pinknsparkly wrote: »

For me that means cutting way down on meat (and purchasing organic, ethically produced British meat - I would go vegan but my husband wouldn't!), eliminating dairy completely and changing my food shopping habits to reduce plastic as much as possible.

I don't quite understand what you are saying here about not giving up meat, so not being vegan, because your husband won't do it.
My husband is omni but I am vegan. What I eat and do has little effect on my OH. Okay yes we use vegan washing up liquid, hand wash, laundry detergent etc but as OH has eczema these are better for him as they are also certified as hypoallergenic.
OH has also started using bulldog products as they agree with his skin better.

At the end of last year I bought 5kg of British quinoa, think it was £30 so not bad price. I decanted it into in a, food grade, bucket. Less plastic used this way and being British less environmental impact in travel.

studygreen02

sounds like a good balance!

[Deleted User]

Wow it's been busy in rl!! :eek:

Sorry I've been awol but I'm hoping to get through March and start the new financial year in better form!! I've been lax in a number of things recently and I have a chaotic few weeks ahead but I'm looking to April to get myself together....

I've been using method stuff for convenience recently but have discovered that it's owned by a company I won't buy from normally so I'll be using up what I have then it's back off the list! Stupid really that I've not checked earlier but it's spurring me on to get back in control! I'm not happy with how I'm doing at the moment but at least I've recognised it early and can rectify it!

Hope all is well and everyone is staying warm!