Why choose vegan cosmetics?

What does it mean to be vegan?

Veganism is a lifestyle based on respect for animals and excludes, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation and cruelty to animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.

The reasons for becoming vegan are many, and each person may feel it in their own way: preventing animal suffering, recognizing animal freedom, eating more healthily, or opting for a more sustainable life. It may seem like a trend, but the enormous amounts of meat that humans consume today can only be obtained through mass industrial production, which entails not only animal suffering but also the overexploitation of land intended for growing grass or soy to feed these animals. These monocultures, besides never being ecological—with their negative consequences for the environment and consumer health—compete with land available for crops intended for human consumption. This fact contributes to the development of global malnutrition by driving impoverished populations to grow cash crops for animal feed instead of food for themselves.

On the other hand, much smaller amounts of crops and water are required to maintain a vegan diet, so switching to veganism is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce our impact on the planet.

Therefore, there are many ways to embrace a vegan life, but what all vegans have in common is a plant-based diet, not consuming any animal-derived products—whether slaughtered or not—and not consuming any product that has been tested on animals, or that contains any ingredient that has undergone such tests. This includes not only food derived from animals but also other animal-derived items such as leather, wool, cosmetics, honey… or even pearls or silk.

Is veganism a trend?

The word "Veganism" was born in England and was used for the first time in the publication of the Vegan Society, founded in 1944 by Donald Watson and Elsie Shrigley. Since then, this movement has not stopped growing: In the United States, according to ‘Time’ magazine, there are already two million vegans. Israel is the most practicing country, with 4% of its population considering themselves vegan. In Spain, the report titled The Green Revolution, conducted by the consultancy Lantern, concluded that 7.7% of the population defines themselves as “veggie,” among whom it is estimated that 0.2% are strict vegans.
The truth is that environmental awareness has also increased significantly in recent years, and this is closely linked to veganism. A vegan diet would reduce emissions from the food industry by 63%, which would mean a cleaner and more sustainable planet (The 1.3 billion cows raised worldwide produce more than 100 million tons of methane annually, one of the gases responsible for the greenhouse effect).

What is vegan cosmetics?

Vegan cosmetics follow the same principles as a vegan diet. That is, in the manufacture of the cosmetic, we do not use any ingredients of animal origin, nor do we test on animals. And it is not just that we do not test the cosmetic; we also do not use any ingredients in its manufacture that have been previously tested.
In other words, vegan cosmetics are deeply respectful of animals.

Do animal tests still exist?

Fortunately, not in Spain. In Europe, the total ban arrived in 2013. Although there are many cosmetics on the market from before 2013 that were tested on animals and continue to be sold, as the law was not retroactive.
If you want to know more about animal testing, you can read our post on this topic again here.

How do you know if a cosmetic product is vegan?

When a cosmetic product is described as “vegan,” it means that it contains neither animal ingredients nor derivatives thereof. That is, they cannot contain collagen, hyaluronic acid of animal origin, honey, beeswax, milk, etc. Besides reading the product INCI lists carefully, as always, another reliable and quick way to know if a cosmetic product is vegan is to look for its certified labels. But be careful: a cruelty-free product may not be vegan. Cruelty-free means that it has not been tested on animals but may have used ingredients derived from them, such as beeswax. Labels that guarantee a product is vegan must specify it, usually with the word “vegan.”

At Herbera, we forgo the use of ingredients of animal origin, and we are also endorsed by the certifying body Peta International; we do this to demand a guarantee of accuracy for our clients. And above all, we do it because our planet and our skin will thank us. Go Vegan!

#herberaseplanta.

Links of interest

Homepage

https://www.vegansociety.com/

https://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx

https://www.vegetarismus.ch/info/s9.htm

https://www.ciwf.es/

http://faada.org/

https://www.animanaturalis.org/es

https://avatma.org/

http://www.apdda.es/