Beauty without cruelty

When I decided to research cosmetic and baby products for use in my gift baskets I had no idea what I was facing in my ambition to provide products which are organic and natural and most importantly, animal friendly.  I spent long hours searching online and trawling stores and outlets to get a good idea of the products available which filled my criteria.

I was thrilled to discover an array of local North East producers as well as many based across the UK, all offering a wonderful selection of cosmetics, shampoos, cleaning materials and candles which used natural products and were not tested on nor contained animal products.

I expanded my research into products that are neither tested on animals nor contain animal ingredients and found myself in a place I never imagined existed and although, like most people, I am aware that cosmetic companies and medical research includes testing on animals and I am aware of the news reports about activists protesting at sites where animal testing takes place, it has never been something I have paid overdue attention to.  After all, we find protesters in all walks of life and in all circumstances.  Yet I did not imagine the passion, frustration and anger these people feel in their struggle against animal cruelty and exploitation.



In order to fully understand the impact of animal products in daily life I tested my ability to manage without these products. I was amazed at how difficult it was to find general food items (milk, bread, margarine, biscuits) that were free of animal products and this extended to having a glass of wine with dinner (you actually get vegan wine!), clothing, shoes, cosmetics and shampoo - the list is endless.  It was exhausting trying to get through just one shopping trip and reading every single label also opened my eyes to the ingredients we happily push down our throats and use on our bodies.


My opinion is that being a vegan must be a difficult and frustrating way of life where nothing is simply there for you as a consumer but rather requires "specialist" shops, restaurants and suppliers.

I had many conversations with a dear friend of mine who is one of the people whose ambition in life is to work towards the protection of animal rights and I was disturbed by how our human lifestyle exploits animals and in a lot of cases we don't appear to be aware of the suffering we wittingly or unwittingly cause because it is not something that is constantly staring us in the face from newspapers and magazines.  I went on to gather information from BUAV, PETA and Animal Rights and was devastated by what I learned about the suffering of animals and encourage everyone to at least be aware of what goes on and make an effort to make some changes which mean that less animals have to suffer unnecessarily.

Following my research I have developed a respect for those people whose beliefs are so strong that they model their entire life around that belief and, whilst I care deeply for the wellbeing of animals and the thought that any aspect of my lifestyle could mean that an animal has suffered makes me feel very uncomfortable, I am not vegan and fall short of being a vegetarian but as an individual I make every effort to avoid knowingly causing suffering and harm to animals.

I know that the organisations that exist and the people that make it their life work to protect animal rights have an enormous battle on their hands and their dedication means that slowly but surely legislations will change and animal rights will improve.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.