5 Common Household Items You Didn’t Know Aren’t Cruelty Free
By: Sawyer Cecena
I like to think that I’m pretty good at detecting what products I see in stores are cruelty-free or not. Especially when it comes to foods, I’ve gotten used to reading over the back of the box to make sure there’s no hidden dairy in our “veggie” products (I’m talking to you, Morningstar veggie sausage!). However, I recently discovered I was seriously lacking in doing my part to remain cruelty free when it came to many everyday household items that I had never even thought to consider the ethicality of! Check out this list below and tell us in the comments what your favorite cruelty-free household product replacements are!
Razors
You know that little moisturizing strip at the base of your razor blade? Have you ever thought about what it’s made of? If you said no, don’t worry – because I hadn’t either until I found out that those strips are often made from animal fat!
Dryer Sheets
I think it’s safe to assume that nobody has thought to check what’s listed on the back of the dryer sheet box. But if you have, then you’d know that most big brands list “fatty acid” as a main component. While not all fatty acids come from animal fat, we think it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Lip Balm
Some vegans are against the use of certain brands which use beeswax in their lip balm formulas. But their favorite tubes still may not be safe! Many brands still use animal-tested artificial dyes and lanolin, a wax sourced from wool-bearing animals like sheep.
Latex Condoms
Although we’ve (thankfully) moved on from the days of using sheep intestines as contraception, it turns out that there’s still some work to do. Many of the popular condom brands that boast about the “smoothness” of their products use an ingredient called casein, a protein found in cows’ milk.
Glass Cleaner
While the actual make up of big brand glass cleaning products may seem promising, animal testing is still a serious problem. Most popular household glass cleaners are applied to the eyes and skin of animals to check for irritants. Some even give their test subjects a sip of the liquid to test the risks of accidental consumption.