Suzann member for 1 year 12 weeks Send a message

Okay, so many of us are aware of animal testing - and we try to buy and use cosmetics that are cruelty-free.

But there are so many items in our lives that most of us don't think about - and are certainly not considered mainstream - that also involve animal cruelty. Like leather shoes and handbags; like fur trim on coats and sweaters (I can't even think about fur coats - that's for another post); like eating meat, or even seafood; like colleges using live, sentient creatures in freshman biology labs; like casually buying eggs at the supermarket instead of going out of the way (okay, yes, it cost a few cents more) to buy eggs from free-range chickens at the health food store.

There is so much we can still do to make sure we are protecting the earth's voiceless creatures, instead of exploiting them.

Mainstream world-wide would have us animal-lovers be a fringe part of society. Some would call us extreme, or tree-huggers, or "health nuts" (that one defies logic). My hope and prayer is that more and more people are able to think through each purchase and take personal responsibility for whether or not it causes pain to a creature.

Yes, I wear shoes made of synthetic material. And yes, there's the argument that synthetics waste fuel because so much of it is made with petroleum-based chemicals. So I guess each of us needs to live by our own spiritual rules. But petroleum doesn't (as far as I know) feel pain and experience terror. Cows do. And chickens, and emus, and lambs, and who knows what else - lobsters? I don't know. Fish? I don't know. But if I'm not sure if a creature feels pain, I do better not supporting its exploitation.

And - good news - there are so many places to get vegan products (including some beautiful handbags!). Here are just a few:

www.veganstore.com
www.differentdaisy.com
www.veganessentials.com
www.alternativeoutfitters.com

Money can speak. If us animal-lovers think about all the products we're using, we can make a difference.

Namaste,
Suzann
Makeup Without Cruelty

photo of bear by Ksenia Kalinina