Resolutions: A little change can do some good


Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you've all woken with a sense of purpose and the drive to accomplish wonderful new goals, instead of a funny taste in your mouth, and a raging hangover. This blog has been an interesting, and addictive, exercise for the past 5 months, and it's given me some insight regarding certain products and a deeper interest for different brands and beauty items.

It has also, in the case of my good friend, Sammy over at Sammy Antha,, opened her eyes to the ugly side of beauty - animal testing. She has since been on a campaign to cut down on products from companies that test on animals, and has been more successful than the younger me, who tried, in the early teens, to do so, but found it impossible, because:
a) as a teenager, I only had so much money
b) animal testing information was harder to come by over 15 years ago (!)
c) I got product envy - I wanted what the other cool kids had
d) it became too hard, and it was easier to just give up
She brought this back to my attention, which has given a new type of determination.

Now that I make my own money, in this day and age, where there are so many other companies offering cruelty free products, I can now make my own choices, and this is what I choose - in 2014, I will be cutting down on buying from brands that test on animals, finances willing, but I'd have to find affordable alternatives. I will, however, continue to review products from these companies, if gifted to me, with absolute honesty, such as in the case of beauty boxes, which also introduce new and interesting cruelty free products.

It's also like religion in that I will talk about it with others if they are interested, but I understand that not everyone can afford to go cruelty free, or have the appropriate products within reach.

The one thing that frustrates me is that even in this day and age, there is little transparency regarding animal testing, and conversely, while people jump on the bandwagon about it being bad, myself included, there are some products that I need to use, like contacts, or medical equipment, that are tested on animals, as well as deodorant and toothpaste (bad teeth and regular visits to the dentist make me reluctant to cut this out). I haven't done any searches yet either, but I would like to find journal articles that state the efficacy of vegan toothpaste to rival the usual stuff.

 As someone who also wears leather and eats a lot of meat, it would be hypocritical of me to ask others to stop, because where do we draw the line? At best, I will say that it is the one area in my life that, while I really love it, there are things I can go without, particularly when there are plenty of great cruelty free products around!

I will say that there are more animals being euthanised in the world than trapped in a cage for testing purposes and this is an area of passion for me. I find this extremely frustrating, and as long as people buy animals from pet stores or don't desex their pets, this will continue. The good news is that certain pet stores are now no longer selling pets, only products, which makes me really happy!

I'm not saying that this is going to be easy, or that I'm not going to slip, but I'm really going to try! The long and short of it is that I hope to help by making some small changes that will work in synergy with my own life. I'm also hoping that Baby Prince will act as a reminder to stick with this resolution!

What are your resolutions this year? Have you struggled with going cruelty free before?

Comments

  1. Great decision! I no longer (knowingly) buy anything that is tested on animals, even going so far as to abstain from the parent companies that own some cruelty free brands but still sell beauty in China. It meant giving up Clinique (*sob*), any L'Oreal affiliated brands and has made me also give up my subscriptions to Bellabox and the like. There are some great quality cheap alternatives eg. NYX, Make Up Academy and some not-so-cheap like Lush but I think it's really worth putting the effort into! Well done and good luck :)

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    1. Thanks for dropping by! Good to hear of others doing the same and persevering! Haha... I know that feeling - goodbye Maybelline, hello...? Don't know yet! I do have tons of stuff to get through still, though, so we'll see!

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  2. A very insightful post! My boyfriend was a former vegetarian for ethical reasons (now pesceterian, because his body can't handle it!) so we talk about animal cruelty quite often. I wear a lot of leather and eat a lot of meat too.. but I think being "respectful" about the animal's wellbeing (while they are alive) and death is quite important. The Aboriginal people had a great system (they also had a fantastic system for reproduction to avoid inbreeding and other mutations.

    I went to the organic expo a couple of years back, they went to Melbourne last year (hopefully they'll make a come back to sydney this July), I don't know if you've been to one but I think you might enjoy it ^_^

    here's their website - http://public.organicexpo.com.au/

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    1. I love the way you've written that - it definitely is about respect! I also love that due to a personal setback, your boyfriend had to compromise, but in a way that he's happy with, and I think that's how I view this as well. I would like to be as good as possible by purchasing cruelty free items, but deodorant is something I find hard change, because I'm very sensitive about exposing others to my... scent. :) Having been on the receiving end of that - it's not something I need to put others through!

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  3. Great post, so inspiring! Thanks for sharing! Would you like to follow each other on GFC, Facebook or bloglovin to stay in touch? Let me know, thanks!

    xx,
    www.mellowyellowblog.com

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    1. Thanks for dropping by! Would love to visit your blog to see it!

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  4. Such a great decision !! so proud of you :) Happy new year doll !! would you like to follow each other on GFC and on Bloglovin :) xx
    www.ambifashion.com

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    1. Hi Ambi! Thanks for coming over! Happy New Year to you too! I'm hopping over to your site now. :)

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  5. this is great to read & good on you !! I have just found you're blog & am now a happy follower

    x

    http://thatgirlnextdoor04.blogspot.com.au

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    1. Thank you! I've just popped over to yours and I'm now following you!

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  6. Lovely blog! Happy New Year! :)
    Love, Shabana
    http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/9807829
    http://shabanasultana.blogspot.com/

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  7. Great post lovely!

    Hope you had a great Christmas and Happy New Year! :)

    xoxoxoxox

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  8. Great post!!! thanks for sharing!
    Happy new year!

    www.plogstyle.com

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    1. Hi Jenny! Your blog is gorgeous! Happy New Year to you too!

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  9. lovely blog, lovely post! happy new year!
    can we follow each other on GFC, Bloglovin and instagram? if you are interested pls put a comment on my blog after doing the follows and I will follow you back right away. if you like my blog ofcourse, thanks :)
    http://fashionsbit.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Happy New Year! I'm going over to your blog right now. :)

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