Going vegan maybe fashionable but it goes beyond consuming a plant-based diet.
Veganism is a lifestyle driven by compassionate choices and an increased awareness of one’s actions on the world. Motivated by the two, a vegan individual usually carefully curates their day-to-day practices in a manner that does little to no-harm to the planet and its inhabitants.
Beauty as an industry has repeatedly been scrutinized for its effects on the consumers and the ecosystem – during the manufacturing process or its effect on the consumer’s thought processes. Now, as the world moves towards adopting Global Sustainability Goals, committing to a world that works with the natural resources instead of against them – it is only fair for each individual to be curious about making the right choices to make their beauty bag as consciously curated as possible.
Vegan and cruelty free labels: Any vegan beauty product means that it is completely plant based and has no animal ingredients or any of their by-products like honey, beeswax, dairy product etc. Cruelty-free as a label means that the ingredients or the final product did not test on animals or harm any animals during the production process. Check if these products are certified by PETA, or verified by Vegan bodies like The Vegan Society and others.
Ethical and natural ingredients: It is equally important to invest in products that use ethically sourced and sustainably harvested ingredients. Since most vegan products tend to be plant derived, ensure that while the source is nature, the impact of manufacturing is also minimal so that there is no harm done to the environment. Often the face scrubs used by us are most damaging not just to the face but also to marine life; so skip synthetic ingredients. Some natural scrubbing ingredients are sugar, salt, coffee which are safe for the coral reefs and far gentler than synthetic scrubs.
Sustainable and eco friendly packaging: Do pay attention to the quality, material of packaging. With an increase in clean-beauty standards and their consumption, brands can develop their packaging in a manner that is sustainable and its increased quantity does not harm the environment. This could translate into using raw materials that are recycled and can be renewed or even introducing the concept of up-cycling the product packaging for decoration or storage purposes. For example, The Body Shop has recently launched a new line of vegan hair care and body butters; that are not only made of 95 per cent ingredients of natural origin but the packaging is made of recycled plastic that can further be recycled. Their makeup brushes also have wooden handles instead of plastic ones.
The above is a small snippet in a long list of things that can help contribute to a cleaner and more conscious lifestyle.
