How To Help Animals : Anywhere, Anytime For FREE!

• SurveyMonkey:  For each questionare completed, this survey website will donate 50 cents towards a charity of your choice.

• Petition Websites: Creating a profile on petition websites is both a fast and easy way to help animals. Recommended websites:

1. Change.org's Animals section.
2. Care2petitions Animal Rights section. 
3. ForceChange.com's Animals section.
4. AnimalPetitions.org 
5. TakePart's Wildlife section.

• Action Alerts and E-Newsletters: Send the latest petitions and animal news straight to your inbox by signing up for various animal organization's e-newsletters. Some suggestions below, but not limited to:

1. International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW)
2. In Defense of Animals (IDA)
3. American Wild Horse Preservation
4. People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) 
5. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
6. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
7. Center for Biological Diversity
8. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
9. Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
10. Compassion Over Killing (COK)
11. Last Chance for Animals (LCA) 

• PETA2 Street Team: Directed towards teens and young adults,  PETA2 Street Team members can advocate for animals while collecting points towards redeeming free PETA2 merchandise. 

• Shop with Amazon Smile and automatically donate a portion of your purchase towards a charity of your choice. 

• Charity Credit Cards: Donate a percentage of your purchases towards an animal charity of your choice by switching to a charity credit card. 

• Social Media Advocacy: Simply follow, like and share content from an organizations Facebook ,Twitter, Instagram and social media accounts to spread awareness. 

For more ways to help animals, click here!

Ordering Vegan At Starbucks

The majority of drinks offered at Starbucks can be made vegan. Equally exciting, Starbucks added coconut milk to their menu in February, now providing customers with two milk alternatives!

1. Choose Soymilk or Coconut milk

2. Skip the whip cream!

3. Avoid the following ingredients:

• Java chips (contains milk ingredients)
• Caramel drizzle ( contains skimmed milk)
• Protein powder (Undisclosed full ingredient list, likely to contain milk ingredients)

4. Not all drinks can be made vegan.

• The fall favorite Pumpkin Spice Latte is a no go, ( Spoiler: It doesn't even contain real pumpkin!) Love pumpkin? Try making your own recipe at home. 
• Note: Other Holiday specials may contain animal ingredients! Upon release, check ingredients before purchasing. 
• Light Frappuccino drinks: All light syrups contain milk.
• Caramel Brule' syrup contains nonfat dry milk. 
• White Mocha syrup contains milk ingredients. 
• Hazelnut Machiato: Syrup contains milk.
• Caramel Machiato: Syrup contains milk. 

5. Vegan syrups:

• Caramel ( In Frappuccios, hot or cold, but not the Caramel machiato)
• Hazlenut (In Frappuccios, hot or cold, but not the Hazelnut machiato)
• Vanilla
• Peppermint
• Toffee Nut
• Strawberry sauce base in Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino, bug free since 2012!

6. Enjoy!

Vanilla Late with coconut milk

* current list of vegan friendly ingredients and drinks may change, so make sure to always double check ingredients before purchasing!*

Cruelty Free And Vegan Drugstore Makeup!

Many consumers worry that cruelty free (and especially vegan) makeup comes with a higher price tag. Luckily, many drugstore brands offer inexpensive beauty products with vegan options. Hooray!

• E.L.F-  The vast majority of E.L.F products are vegan, except for a few containing beeswax and some animal hair makeup brushes. The best part? E.L.F's prices are amazingly cheap, with products starting at just one dollar!  

• WET N' WILD- Mostly vegan, some items contain carmine and beeswax. Current vegan product list seen here. Please note, companies may change formulas of current products, and debut new ones as well, make sure to always double check product labels if you are concerned about animal ingredients. 

• PHYSICIANS FORMULA- Offers hypoallergenic cosmetics free of harsh chemicals, with vegan options! (Be aware that the brush applicators are made from goat hair.)

• ECO TOOLS: This eco-friendly company provides vegan makeup tools, including synthetic makeup brushes! Many companies, including cruelty free companies, sell brushes made from animal hair and fur. Even if they claim that it was ethically sourced, it is impossible to prove such claims. Lasting longer since they are not made of organic material, synthetic brushes are a win for both consumers and animals!

• PIXI-Found exclusively at Target, Pixi offers many vegan items including some of my favorite vegan mascaras, Lash Booster Mascara and Large Lash Mascara. 

• PACIFICA- (100% Vegan!) This all vegan company not only offers cruelty free makeup, they also carry nail polish, moisturizers, cleansers and perfume!  

*Please note, all reccomendations follow my cruelty free criteria.*

Why L'Oréal ISN'T Worth It!!!

Among the various cosmetic companies who still perform cruel, unnecessary tests on animals, L'Oréal takes the cake as my personal favorite. To detest that is. Yes, other cosmetic companies test on animals, however, L'Oréal is relentless when it comes to messing with cruelty free consumers. Besides selling to China, causing their already animal tested products to be tested a second time for China's market, the cosmetic giant has purchased some beloved cruelty free companies. See a complete list of brands owned by L'Oréal. 

Some cruelty free companies purchased by L'Oréal:

• The Body Shop
• NYX- As of 2014. 
• Pureology- (100% Vegan company)
• Urban Decay 

L'Oréal deceives consumers: 

Not only does the largest cosmetic company in the world test on animals, they deceive consumers about this fact. In 2014, L'Oréal rolled out a new animal testing statement stating, "L'Oréal  no longer tests on animals anywhere in the world, nor does it delegate the task to others. An exception could only be made if regulatory authorities demanded it for safety or regulatory purposes." Pay close attention to the second sentence here, they make exceptions! ( This is L'Oréal's "Getting away with animal testing in China" card.) No truly cruelty free company makes exceptions! 

L'Oréal's new March 2013 rule, "We do not ask our suppliers to conduct animal tests on our behalf. When a supplier proposes us an ingredient, we ask to examine its safety dossier. If the dossier contains data generated by means of animal testing before March 2013, L'Oréal can retain the ingredient. If the data was generated after March 2013 and was for a cosmetic application, L'Oréal  cannot retain the ingredient. If the data was generated after March 2013 but was for usage other than cosmetics, then L'Oréal can retain the ingredient." L'Oréal states that it no longer uses ingredients tested on animals IF the ingredient was tested AFTER March 2013 and ONLY IF the testing was strictly for cosmetic purposes. This loophole allows L'Oréal to use animal tested ingredients in new products! New skin care products are labeled as "medical use ", not "cosmetic use", allowing L'Oréal to continue using animal tested ingredients.   

The Nestlé connection:   

Though unrelated to the beauty industry, I want to point out that Nestlé owns 30 percent of L'Oréal. I bring this up because of Nestlé's deplorable ethics, including deforestation,

killing of Orangutans, and infant formula scandals. 

 "L'Oréal, because you're worth it"........I think not! 

All About That Bunny, No Testing: Cruelty Free Basics

For starters, why choose cruelty free? 

I have two adorable fur babies, the thought of dripping hairspray into their eyes or smearing chemicals onto their skin is unimaginable. If you would never dream of doing this to your own pets, or anyone else's, why support companies who perform such tests? Despite cheaper, more efficient alternatives, cosmetic companies continue to test their products on animals. The good news? Your PURCHASING POWER makes a difference! Going cruelty free takes a stand against animal testing. By decreasing demand for animal tested products, this action takes steps towards ultimately banning the practice. 

So, what exactly does "cruelty-free" mean?

As crazy as it sounds, different companies have varying definitions of  "cruelty free". Since the label "cruelty free" goes unregulated in the U.S, many companies falsely label their products as such. Here's what "cruelty free" labels can mean:

•  "We do not test our products or ingredients on animals"- However, it may contain animal ingredients. 

• "Finished product not tested on animals"- This only applies to the final product. The ingredients could have been tested on animals and it may contain animal ingredients.  

• "This product is not tested on animals"- This doesn't guarantee that the ingredients are cruelty free, or that the product contains no animal ingredients. 

• "Against animal testing"- So am I, but this label proves nothing. This could simply mean that the company supports alternatives, but still practices animal testing themselves.  

Animal Products vs. Animal By-Products:

• Animal products are sourced from the body of an animal. Milk, eggs, honey, flesh and lanolin for example. 

• Animal by-products are derived from mammals, birds, fish, crustaceans, insects, and other animals. Usually leftovers from the slaughter industry, some examples include lard, gelatin, tallow, and rennet. 

What about "Vegetarian" and "Vegan" labels?

• "100% Vegetarian"- The product contains ingredients obtained from live animals without harm (supposedly). Examples include milks, eggs, honey and hair. 

• "Vegan"- The product contains no animal or insect ingredients.

Keep in mind vegetarian and vegan products aren't necessarily cruelty free. Below are vegan certified logos. 

Which companies DO and DON'T test on animals?

Whether you are a long-time cruelty free consumer, in transition, or begging to wonder about that little bunny logo on product packaging, it's important to understand labeling.  Just because a company has "cruelty free" or "no animal testing" printed on their packaging doesn't mean they are truly cruelty free. Luckily, the organizations listed below provide consumers with trusted cruelty free labeling.

• Leaping Bunny  - The Leaping Bunny Program requires companies to meet their cruelty free standards before awarding use of the Leaping Bunny logo, along with  yearly certification renewals. Leaping Bunny certified list seen here. 

• PETA's Caring Consumer Campaign- Providing a searchable database, companies appear on their cruelty free list after PETA verifies that "They do not conduct, commission, or pay for any tests on animals for ingredients, formulations, or finished products and that they pledge not to do so in the future". The companies are then licensed to use PETA's cruelty free logo, soon to receive an update. PETA also provides a list of companies that DO test on animals. 

• CCF Rabbit- An Australian non-profit organization awards companies with their certified cruelty free logo upon meeting the organization's standards.This includes a "Never tested rule" and strict criteria on animal-dervived ingredients. CCF Rabbit Certified companies seen here. 

Red Flags:

• If a companies policy states that they don't test "except when required by law". This means they most likely sell to foreign markets where animal testing is required. China for example, requires mandatory animal testing of foreign cosmetics. 

• If a company doesn't respond, or fails to answer certain parts of your inquiries about testing and or ingredients. 

Creating Kind's stance on "cruelty free":

All companies recommended by Creating Kind will meet the following criteria:

1. At no point was animal testing involved. 
2. Each individual ingredient, formulas and the final product were never tested on animals.
3. No third parties and or ingredient suppliers conducted any sort of testing for the company. 
4. The company must either be independent or owned by another cruelty free company. I will not purchase from cruelty free companies whose parent company tests on animals. Though I see both sides on this issue, ultimately, purchasing from these companies supports the parent company, which supports animal testing. 
5. Companies cannot sell to foreign markets such as China who require animal testing.  

Making a difference!

My journey from first looking into cruelty free products, to where I stand today on the issue was a process. It's important to not get discouraged! We can never be 100 percent positive that companies are 100 percent cruelty free, but as consumers we can do our best to stay educated on current policies and labeling. All of this information can seem overwhelming, but remember, every step makes a difference! Please note that throwing away your current products would be a waste. The best action to take is to use up your remaining products and begin replacing them with cruelty free alternatives. Don't be hard on yourself, decide what you are comfortable with supporting. So inform yourself, stay positive and be kind!