Food for thought.

I have been reading Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin and came upon this awesome quote.

"Think of how you feel when you are angry, afraid and grief stricken. Bear in mind the physical feelings that accompany these emotions. These emotions fear-grief- rage- produce chemical changes in our body. They do the same to animals. Their blood pressures rise. Adrenaline courses through their bodies. You are eating high blood pressure, stress and adrenaline. You are eating fear, grief and rage. You are eating suffering, horror and murder. You are eating cruelty. You are what you eat. You cannot be thin and beautiful with a glowing complexion when you eat fear, grief and rage. "

http://www.skinnybitch.net/

Vegan Etsy!

If anyone out there hasn't discovered this hand made market place they should hop on over right now for some very unique hand made goods and killer finds. http://www.etsy.com/?ref=si_home

As I have mentioned before in previous posts you can find all sorts of up and coming indie designers on a budget. It is a great place to find clothing and accessories made in eco friendly materials like bamboo, hemp, soy, organic cotton and upcycled reclaimed clothing..

Here are some of my pics for items that are good for the earth yet don't make you look like one of those "crunchy granola types" as I know some women do not want to look like what a "vegan" or eco friendly person stereotypically looks like..

The Love Root tshirt by Thelotusroot. Hand screened water based ink on an organic cotton and bamboo tshirt. $28.00

100%Hemp bag lined with 100% organic cotton with poppies made by Uzura $58.00

The Black & White Paisley Leggings are made with eco friendly modal knit. Made by FineThreadz $26.00

This dress is made from ridiculously soft Organic or Eco jersey fabrics (see colour chart below). Upcycled twill fabric make up the "suspenders" that cross in the back and have upcycled large Buttons in the front! Made by Alterecoclothing $70.00

Rock Star Zipper Ankle Boots w/ gold studs and spikes. Black vegan leather with a 5" wedge heel. Each pair is custom made to order by JennyFallsDown. $115

There's something that really irks me about being vegan.The price tag. It seems that these days clothing designers are really adding a sky high price tag for quality items that are Eco friendly and cruelty free. I think this could be a huge deterrent for someone who simply doesn't have that extra cash flow to spend on such items. I recently saw a really cool veggie leather coat that was $570. Now that is more then what I pay for my part of rent! So having said that there are so many small designers that are up and coming who are promoting a cruelty free lifestyle are affordable and they also donate part of the proceeds to charity! One such designer is on Etsy: Love Peace Vegan clothing. Every item you purchase goes to help support such charities as farm sanctuary and the price range is from $3.99-39.99.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lamotif01?ref=seller_info
   

Innocence Mineral Cosmetics

Make-up I am loving right now. Totally bright and every colour you can think of in this mineral make-up line. They have no fillers, dyes or synthetics. But some of them do contain carmine which is an animal product ( ones that are red) so not all of them are vegan. These shadows can go on soft and glimmery or bright and rockin. They are based out of Calgary Ontario. http://www.innocencecosmetics.com/

Peace Keepers

I just found out about this company. I keep seeing the same reviews of the same companies being touted for being vegan- which is great, but I want a variety of places to shop and options! So I like to keep digging for new things to get excited about and I am soooo excited about this company:

Peace Keepers
 They have a wide variety of vegan products and not only that but their company principles are based off of the yoga Sutras of  truthfulness and non-stealing. They believe in fair wages, and promoting slavery free work and are 100% cruelty free. Also if that isn't a sell they donate all of their after- tax profits to issues concerning women!  Their products all come with an full ingredient list that can been looked up on their web site and a specific toxicity report on each ingredient. They also have a specific listing as to which products are vegan and which are not.

This is a quote of their mission statement:

"Peacekeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax, distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues. PeaceKeeper builds a bridge between extraordinary women in the land of plenty and extraordinary women who, by chance of birth, don’t have our resources or opportunities.
Here are the ideals that we pledge to uphold in our business practices: 



1) Slavery-free labor
2) Fair wages

PeaceKeeper is building a slave-labor free company, so if we believe there to be any  exploitation in hours, safety, or health-care and retirement benefits, we are out.

We are consulting with www.newstandards.com to monitor this.

PeaceKeeper makes sure that the companies we are working with, here and overseas, pay a fair wage to their employees.

3) Cruelty-free products 

PeaceKeeper does not use any products that have been tested on animals. We also provide 100% vegan products for animal lovers who do not use ingredients such as carmine.

PeaceKeeper strives every day to practice the ideals of truthfulness, non-stealing, and non-violence, as found in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, a text which outlines the ways in which a yogi can find ethical balance throughout their life.

When a yogi practices truthfulness, ultimately anything they say will come true.  If they practice not hoarding or stealing, people will feel so safe around them that they will reveal unimaginable treasures. When we truly practice non-violence, then no negative energy can harm us. Like the Buddhist monks who can safely walk through a battlefield, we can face each day unaffected by the negativity in the world. Now that's powerful!

As a company, PeaceKeeper strives to promote promote greater peace throughout the world by the practice of these traditional concepts. We hope that you can help us achieve success by practicing truthfulness, non-stealing, and non-violence in your own everyday lives! "http://www.iamapeacekeeper.com/products.htm?PriceCat=2&Lang=EN-US&SID=07b9ab82-ca6d-45e7-9449-3727b0c9c036

Mainstream Vegan Beauty Products.

I was doing some research trying to find other companies that are out there and readily available for the gal that likes to get her stuff exclusively from a drug store or maybe a discount department store. So here I have found a list of cruelty and animal free beauty companies that are affordable and readily stocked at most drug stores,Walmarts, Zellers, Zehrs, Giant Tigers and surplus stores. Now that you have a list of alternatives perhaps it will make the trip down the beauty isle not so confusing.

~E.L.F ( eyes, lips, face): I always see gift sets of this make-up line being sold for around the $6 range for a package of 3-6 items, and I never knew it was vegan!
http://www.eyeslipsface.com/

~Freeman Beauty. They are known for their individual travel face mask pouches- you know the ones with the avocado or strawberries on the picture. Their products come in large tubes and are sold in Shopper's Drug Marts and I have even found their shampoos at Dollarama. Now it doesn't get more budget friendly then that for the veganista.

~Hard Candy. Not all of their products are vegan, but if you go to their web site they have a listing of which items are specifically vegan. These products I have mostly found at Walmart.
http://www.hardcandy.com/updates.php?id=4

~Physicians  Formula;  They have a wide range of cosmetics to choose from including eyeshadow pallets consisting of 17 colours specifically designed to highlight the colour of your eyes. They also have refillable compacts made from bamboo. The organic wear line is free of cosmetic chemicals, and nasty parabens and preservatives.
http://www.physiciansformula.com/en-ca/staticpage/organic-wear.html

~Mitchum Deodorant

And for the salon brands opt for these companies:

~Abba- 100% vegan, free of sulfates and synthetic dyes.

~Derm Organic: 100% vegan, free of preservatives ( parabens) and dyes and sulfates

I hope that helps some of you out there make informed decisions without the guess work.

New Magazine I'm Loving

I just discovered this awesome eco-aware magazine yesterday during a much needed de-stressing trip to my fave book store: chapters.
The Magazine is called Boho and it features reviews on all things eco-conscious and sustainable from upcycling artists to haute couture and reclaimed items being made into furniture, and lots of beauty and food reviews. It's of course printed on recycled paper- no glossy pages here. It's totally cute and worth the $5.99 Canadian.

http://www.bohomag.com/

Earthlings

Has anyone out there watched the documentary Earthlings? I'm sure many vegans out there have. I couldn't make it through the entire thing, it was so heart breaking. I hope everyone watches it- perhaps it'll make us as a society think about our actions.
They just came out with these and I want one. http://www.earthlings.com/0/earthlings-store/test-product.php

Green Beaver

I love this all Canadian and affordable beauty company. All the products are hand made by a husband and wife team and so pure you can eat them! They began their company when they saw that their newborn son would swallow his bath bubbles. Yuck. Not only are they vegan but they also use as many local organic ingredients as possible, and are free of harmful chemicals such as: dyes, preservatives, petro-chemicals, mineral oil, stabilizers and sulfates. It doesn't get much cleaner then this.

Each bottle ranges around $11 for a full size lotion or body wash, right now they have a combo of cranberry wash and lotion for $12. They make body wash, scrubs, lotions, an entire winter and gardening  line and even toothpaste and lip balms. Check em' out they can be found at any health food store that carries beauty products ( at least in Ontario).

Right now I am loving their winter skin face cream. It comes in a glass jar and is so nice and thick and creamy. It took me a little bit to get used to the blend of essential oils such as cinnamon and fennel, but now I love the earthiness of it. I am also using their organic locally farmed cranberry lotion and body wash ( which are sold as a duo combo for the price of $12 for 250 ml I might add).
http://www.greenbeaver.com/

Buyer beware

I just read about this on a web site. L'oreal just bought up Pureology. L'oreal is known for testing on animals so there is no guarantee that this line will remain vegan and cruelty free. I just emailed them to ask them about the animal testing, we shall see if they reply. But again Pureology is known for being a high end line with a hefty price tag. Here it retails for about $30/bottle and with so many other guaranteed vegan lines that are just as good- ex..ABBA ( also a salon vegan line that is half the price), why take the risk.

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/16/another-one-bites-the-dust-loreal-buys-pureology/

New Inspirations.

I am no stranger to blogs, having kept a livejournal for several years now, but I felt that I needed something new, a place where I can store and share my ideas on specific areas of life particularly being a vegan and the lifestyle that it encompasses. I wanted to meet people who share the same ideals as myself and that could inspire me to not give in to apathy, which I admit I have been prone to at times.

Recently, I just read the cutest book called the Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by: Melisser Elliot. http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Vegan-Girls-Guide-Life-Cruelty-Melisser-Elliott/9781616080921-item.html?ikwid=vegan+girls+guide+to+life&ikwsec=Home

It is totally the cutest book on a lifestyle choice that I have read in a long time. My only complaint about such books is this: firstly I am Canadian and the majority of the companies mentioned are American. There are so many lovely and affordable vegan companies out there that get skipped over. So I want to mention them here in the event that I ever have fellow readers. Also I find that it is wonderful that there are vegan designers out there and I agree that they should be able to make a good living promoting something so wonderful. But having said that I sometimes think that some companies that charge so much for haute couture could scare away people considering a potential lifestyle change. It makes something seem unattainable for those that don't have $600 extra to spend on an animal free winter coat. To me it can reduce an ideal to something that is simply a trend. And I am not just talking about clothing. There are types of food that people buy into needing that are pricey and again it makes this particular lifestyle come across as being too pricey and therefore gives people the excuse they need to slough it off as simply some new fad.

Being a vegan doesn't need to be expensive nor do we all need to look like "hippy crunchy" types either.  So this is my rant and my inspiration. Bringing the best of my knowledge of bargain hunting, cooking, and my 10 years of experience in the cosmetology beauty industry to other penny pinching vegan's out there.