Vegan cosmetics – 5 reasons for plant-based care

Vegan cosmetics are very trendy. More and more people are opting for a purely plant-based lifestyle - including vegan cosmetics. In this article, I would like to explain to you what makes good vegan cosmetics and what role ethical and environmental aspects play. Enjoy reading!

1. Vegan cosmetics – the ethical aspect
2. Recognizing vegan cosmetics
3. Vegan cosmetics – generally better?
4. Living vegan – the future is plant-based

1. Vegan cosmetics – the ethical aspect

I still remember the day I was "veganized." It was a warm summer evening in Berlin and I was sitting in front of a bar with a friend. I was 15 and had been a vegetarian since I was a child. My friend explained to me the connections between the dairy industry, eggs and animal suffering and the effects my consumer behavior had on the environment, animals and ultimately on all people.

A thousand thoughts were racing through my head. That cows only give milk when they have calves, that cosmetic products can contain slaughterhouse waste, and that the rainforest is being cleared to grow huge monocultures of feed crops for livestock.

It clicked. Everything is connected and is a huge cycle - and we are part of the system. Dairy and meat companies play a driving role as a climate factor worldwide.

According to the Federal Environment Agency, around 62 percent of total methane emissions in Germany are caused by agricultural livestock farming.

79 percent of nitrous oxide emissions in Germany are a result of nitrogen fertilization of agricultural soils.

2. Recognizing vegan cosmetics

An African proverb says, “Many small people doing many small things in many small places can change the face of the world.” Everyone can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and animal suffering through their daily habits.

Another good reason for vegan cosmetics are some ingredients in conventional cosmetic products that probably nobody would consciously want to put on their skin. "Hydrolyzed collagen", for example, is made from slaughterhouse waste. Don't feel like it? Go vegan in the bathroom!

Vegan cosmetics can be identified by seals such as the "vegan flower" or the note "vegan". Because all of our products are vegan, you can shop through the entire range if you only want to use purely plant-based products on your skin.

What my 15-year-old self would have given for this! I still remember having to go shopping with a vegan cookbook from an esoteric shop under my arm because it contained an extensive list of non-vegan ingredients. Thankfully, those days are over.

3. Vegan cosmetics – generally better?

Supermarkets and drugstores are now – unlike in the past – a land of milk and honey for vegans. The veggie market is booming and I love it! But precisely because veganism has become a trend, it is worth taking a closer look in order not to fall into the “greenwashing” trap. Unfortunately, vegan cosmetics are not per se environmentally friendly, cruelty-free or particularly gentle on the skin. Because:

Chemical ingredients like parabens or silicones are vegan, but do you want them on your skin?

Even raw materials that cause significant damage to the environment, such as mineral oil, are vegan. But are they also contemporary?

Animal testing for cosmetic products has been banned in the EU since 2013. Just because the product says “not tested on animals” does not mean that no animal testing has been carried out on individual chemical ingredients.

That's why it's worth taking a closer look at vegan cosmetics and manufacturers. There are already gentle and environmentally friendly alternatives for many conventional ingredients, such as sugar surfactants, which we use in our shampoo and hand soap .

5. Living vegan – the future is plant-based

When I look at the developments of the last few years, I have great hope that we will still rock the story. Although I am less dogmatic and strict today than I was as a teenager with ambitions to save the world, the topic of veganism is probably more relevant than ever in view of climate change.

The more people rely on vegan products from sustainable production, the better our future will look in terms of global warming. Numerous studies show that a vegan lifestyle has a significantly lower impact on the climate.

It's not about one person saving the world. It's the many small steps we take together that will help our beautiful planet recover and continue to provide a safe home for us, future generations and biodiversity.

If we can also enjoy immediately noticeable effects because we only use gentle and truly natural vegan cosmetics on our skin, all the better!

Sources:

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/land-forstwirtschaft/beitrag-der-landwirtschaft-zu-den-treibhausgas#treibhausgas-emissionen-aus-der-landwirtschaft

https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02409-7

https://www.iatp.org/emissions-impossible