Becoming a Cruetly-Free Household

It's not as easy as it sounds.
There, I said it.

That said, it's certainly not impossible and definitely achievable, at least for the most part.
I wasn't fortunate enough to be born into the Hiltons or Kardashians. I am a working artist, which means I am of average means and cannot afford to simply flush our home of the old and re-stock all at once.

If you're anything like me, once you begin to change what you eat with factory farming as your biggest incentive, you start to read articles and watch documentaries and learn more than you ever really wanted to know about how cruel we can be to animals and our environment. The amount of products in the average (again, I am considering myself to be somewhat in the norm) household that test on animals can be shocking and overwhelming. They are the products we conduct our daily functions with...bathing, cleaning, laundry, hygiene...you name it. I don't know about you, but as much as I want to make a positive impact on animals and our environment, I'm not trying to be some haggard looking, "natural"-smelling, vegan stereotype. I might have a heart, but I still possess a bit of vanity.

I have not won the lottery yet, so I cannot throw all of my leather shoes and belts and go on a shopping spree for vegan alternatives. I also am a pet owner and have come to realize how the pet food industry contributes to factory farming and animal testing practices. I am currently researching alternatives, but most seem to be found only in specialty stores and/or cost an arm and a leg. This is especially complicated when one of your dogs is a 140lb St. Bernard.  I could choose to not have pets in my family, but that doesn't seem like a kinder option, as we don't buy, but rescue unwanted and mistreated animals. So we find ourselves between a rock and a shitty place.

But as I have said before, every bit counts.
As we run out of our current items, we have begun replacing them with cruelty-free options. So far we have changed our laundry detergent, dental hygiene products and facial cleansers and moisturizers. It's something. We're on our way.

Here are lists of companies and products that DO and DON'T test on animals, complied by VeganRabbit.com