Household and shampoos

Today, I want to talk about products we use daily. I've been becoming more and more concious about what I put on my skin and into the water, too. I've been long using vegan cosmetic products, such as shampoos, face cream, hand cream and even toothpaste. I especially like the DM brand Alverde, that is mostly vegan and not tested on animals.

Since I've stopped consuming meat, any animal cruelty disturbs me enormously. Well, it had disturbed me before, too, but now I consciously think about it. For example: I am choosing shampoos and while browsing and reading labels with all the weird ingredients suddenly lab beagles I've seen in a documentary come into my mind. And since we do own a beagle, I immediately relate to the abuse being done to her, and I cannot see myself using a product that has harmed an animal in order for me to wash my hair. It's absurd. And if you need to test it in order to see if it's harmful or not, well, it cannot be that natural, can it. Natural ingredients shouldn't be harmful by definition.

The amount of bio, eco, vegan, and so on products expands by the day. Apparently, being eco is "in", as is being vegan and companies have started to realize this and supply accordingly. But just because something is stated as "bio" or "eco" or "vegan" it doesn't mean it has not been tested on animals. Plus, let's take into consideration the price of such products that is usually double the price of a "regular" product.

So I'm quite happy when I come across products such as Alverde, that are friendly to the animals, the planet, to me and to my wallet.

And the past weekend I've discovered a new brand for household products, Winni's. I found the products in an italian store (I do buy there regularly for italian brands, such as Lavazza coffee, Barilla products and so on), but I could almost have gone by it, never noticing.

Since the products were displayed among all the rest of the standard products, I've only noticed it, because mom stopped by to buy her regular washing detergent. And then I spotted the shy Winni's and it was the ECONATURA label that caught my eye. I stopped, picked it up, started reading. The products are based on plant sources, fully biodegradable, Nichel tested, and not tested on animals. And they cost just as much as any generic line, much less than brand products. For a 3 litre washing detergent I payed about 5,50 €, the fabric softener 1,5 €, the soap (can be used for clothes & body) about 1 € and just as much for the dishwashing detergent.

I bought the products on test (me and my mom both did), but next time I go there, I buy it again (and I'm sure mom will, too). And will  continue using it! The quality of the products is AMAZING, it smells wonderful and is kind to the skin, and apparently, to the planet as well.

The only thing that disturbed me is how easily could I have gone past the products in the shop and never notice them, since the shop did nothing at all to promote the eco friendly brand. And I think if people knew about it, many more would choose it over other products and thus make it more readily available, but I know about shop politics in general and I understand why that is so. SHAME.

So now I'm doing my best to promote the brands I love. And no, this is not a paid campaign, I do not work for this company not know them in any way. I'm just grateful they exist!