Getting into a vegan lifestyle
For the one vegan is a lifestyle of absolute conviction, for others the consumption of products without substances from animals is a necessary evil, perhaps for reasons of health or food intolerances.
A gradual introduction to a vegan lifestyle is easy. First, by no means one should not be pressurised or put pressure on himself. Second, how would it be to start giving up meat?
Thus, the first step would be done. It is your start to a vegan, healthier and thus ethically acceptable, human, and animal friendly way of life. Little by little now the diet can be modified where you replace products that contain animal substances against vegan products. And then you might take a look in your closet and start, whenever an item of clothing needs to be replaced, to substitute it with vegan fashion.
What is vegan?
Veganism is a special form of vegetarianism. Vegans do not consume any animal products at all. The vegan lifestyle is not limited to the areas of food and clothing. Vegans completely preclude the consumption and the use of animal products.
This means in a vegan diet the absolute abstinence from meat, eggs, milk, and honey. Vegans also preclude products with animal ingredients and additives such as gelatin, rennet in wine or lanolin and collagen in cosmetics. Also clothes are taboo, which consist of animal materials such as wool, leather, horn, and silk.
However, there is an area of tension in veganism, which significantly complicates the waiver of animal products in our society today: Medical treatments. Numerous drugs contain substances or pharmaceutical additives of animal origin or are produced with the aid of animal substances. Who lives extremely vegan has to watch out during conventional treatment measures that no therapies containing animal substances are administered. Here desire and reality diverge. It may be assumed that every person has a causal interest to live long and healthy. Nevertheless, the vegan lifestyle can be included in medical treatments, for example, if possible, by changing to animal-free alternatives (eg tablets without milk protein instead of gelatin capsules).
At the present a 100% vegan lifestyle seems to be impossible. In our current living space materials of animal origin are latent, whether on the street, in means of transport or indoors. However, besides medicine many other areas of life offer a possible approach to the vegan philosophy of life.
Vegan materials
Food, clothing, cleaning agents and cosmetics are often the first areas of life in which a switch to vegan products can easily be done.
Vegan fashion and shoes are often made from vegetable and renewable raw materials such as organic cotton, cork, bamboo, hemp and natural rubber. Recycled materials as car tires and PET bottles are also used. Manufacturers of vegan clothing and footwear are mindful about the fact that eco jeans wear a leather-free label or that adhesives are used without animal ingredients and are not tested on animals.
Nowadays a fashionable vegan living person does not pass on look, style and comfort anyway. Vegan eco fashion and vegan shoes go with the trend. They come in all shapes, colours and variations.
Also vegan cleanser and washing detergents clean the laundry. This indispensable household helpers are made from plant and mineral ingredients. Many companies go a step further and state explicitly that the vegan cleaning products are free from animal testing. In addition to these important aspects for vegans, eco detergents are biodegradable and are particularly suitable for people with sensitive skin as well as for babies and toddlers.
The same criteria also apply to natural cosmetics. Herbal ingredients are the basis for vegan cosmetics. Also, animal studies are taboo. The natural ingredients of vegan health and beauty products are also attractive for allergy sufferers and people with sensitive skin.
If you have come to this point in the gradual changeover to a vegan lifestyle, then you have already achieved a great deal for yourself. Who wants to approach the hundred percent mark, gets further suggestions below.
Vegan in everyday life for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle
Vegan living is not a sacrifice or self-abasement. It is a conscious decision for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Even everyday objects such as furniture, kitchen accessories, home accessories and office supplies require a thorough examination regarding animal constituents such as adhesive or wax. Manufacturers of items for the vegan daily life consistently take care that their products are free from animal raw materials.
If for reasons of consistency and quality animal additives can not be avoided, producers of vegan items place value on the fact that the animal ingredients used are not tested on animals. In the mind of a vegan it should be considered, that science and research make process for alternative materials and that many products can be entirely dispensed with animal ingredients.
At Greenpicks a range of eco-friendly shops offer vegan products. Thus, you may find accessories for the kitchen from sustainable FSC certified wood, guaranteed unglued storage boxes made of bioplastics from Biodora and ajaa! Home accessories, upcycling furniture, bags and purses made from recycled materials can also be an alternative. Even vegan giveaways are possible with Sprout, the pencil, that wants to be a plant. More information about if a product is vegan you will find below every product description in our criteria of sustainability.