Whether you've been vegan for years or have successfully completed vegan uary and are considering becoming a long-term vegan, or if you just want to live a little greener this year, you may need to rethink some of the things you have your house around
If you're vegan, you tend to be passionate about human cosmetics and vegan foods, but when it comes to household items, including furniture, it's not always clear what is vegan and what isn't. However, don't feel bad: the fact that the products contain animal by-products is not praised by brands. You should therefore know which household items may need to be checked twice.
- You can find more tips for a more sustainable life on our Eco Hub page
How to have a vegan and ecological home
From some "no no" ingredients to other important elements / manufacturing tips, we've done our homework so you don't have to do it if you live in a vegan and environmentally friendly home. ,
Ideally, a vegan lifestyle goes hand in hand with respect for the country. Even if you're not a vegan, make small changes, or opt to completely green your home, you're essentially choosing a much more environmentally friendly environment to be proud of
We made a conscious effort (see what we did there?) To ensure that all of these changes are feasible and pocket-friendly. We're not talking about solar panels, and no building permit is needed, but here are a few things to consider:
- Leather furniture: damn nice, but very vegan;
- Wool / silk bedding / pillow or other animal and more as stated above;
- Leather jets or blankets: you can work with them;
- Mattresses: Some can be treated with flame retardants that are not vegan like wool or silk.
- Furniture polish, many of which may contain beeswax;
- Murals: may contain casein and / or beeswax;
- Household bleaching and cleaning products: It is really difficult to find a vegan bleach that has not been tested on animals throughout the supply chain.
- Toilet paper, yes, very good. However, binders, including gelatin, can be used and some companies can still do animal testing.
Find the perfect vegan sofa + accessories
In order for your sofa, armchairs, headboard, and everything else to be vegan, you need to make sure it's made of cotton or plastic. If you still like the look of leather, you can opt for a piece of faux leather as it becomes more and more elegant. If you're an absolute contender for a deep-button sofa (you know what we're talking about), you can find vegan Chesterfields now.
The changes you make really depend on whether you want to buy something new or whether you can choose from many more sustainable and vegan substances.
These are your options when buying something new for your home, but if you recently invested in an expensive three-piece leather suite, what options do you have?
- You can donate it to charity or sell it on eBay for a good price and use the money to invest in a new vegan or favorite number (although eBay is also the perfect place to search!).
- You can use it to the end, and that should be enough to keep your conscience in place.
If you choose upholstery, bedding and other materials, you are choosing natural materials such as organic cotton, sustainable banana fibers, bamboo, tencel or other natural / synthetic fibers. recycled What you can do with natural fibers is now unbelievable and if the texture is there you will not miss any of your old fabric furniture! Of course, remember to recycle what you have.
Try polishing furniture
If you've bought a nice wooden piece of furniture such as a coffee table, a bookcase, or a side table for recycling, it's vegan and ecological until you sand it and give it a few layers of furniture varnish ... Yes, that's not clear, but it does contain a lot of furniture polishes animal derivatives such as beeswax. You can solve this problem by choosing a vegetable bitumen or making your own!
There are so many uses for coconut oil, but did you know that furniture polish is one of them? It hydrates the wood and emphasizes its natural colors. It also oxidises slowly due to its high content of saturated fatty acids. In addition to coconut oil, you can also use soy wax, olive oil, walnut oil, jojoba or almond oil. Here we show you how to use coconut oil or another oil of your choice in furniture:
- Sand the wood and prepare if necessary, let it dry;
- Use an old cloth to apply the oil to the entire surface in long, regular movements.
- Let it dry for 10 to 15 minutes before polishing it with a dry cloth with circular motions to get more shine.
You can use most pure oils, but you can also add apple cider vinegar or white cider to each of them to actively remove dirt stains on your way. In addition, antibacterial properties prevent it from going rancid. Try it on the frame of your bed, on your dining table, and on what you're preparing to see how beautiful it looks.
The best recipe for polishing home furniture
- 1 cup of oil of your choice
- ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar or white wine
- A few drops of an essential oil of choice (lemon works for us)
application:
- Mix everything in a bottle and shake it.
- For a light varnish, you can spray it on an old cloth and apply it according to the grain of the wood.
- For a deeper treatment, you can spray it directly onto the furniture and apply a few layers.
Discover your vegan and organic color options
If you choose non-toxic and non-toxic colors, they are usually better for you and the environment, and they're also more likely to be vegan. Casein is an animal derivative from milk and is often found in wall paints due to its quick-drying, long-lasting and long-lasting properties.
Beeswax is another product that is included in generic colors for walls and houses. However, there are more and more color brands like Farrow & Ball and Dulux that produce inexpensive ecological color formulations. VOC content, vegan and therefore free of cruelty.
Remember: brushes must also be vegan
The brushes are often made of "natural" bristles, which generally means that they are made from animal skins or a combination of animal skins. Pony and ox hair with stickers like "Sabel", which indicate a combination of mink fur, ferrets and weasels, and "camel" hair, which can actually come from goats, squirrels and other animals, are the brushes Naturals are certainly not vegan ,
Fortunately, there are human and vegan alternatives that work even better. Instead of absorbing paint, its texture enables a smooth and even surface and is also easier to clean. Whether you are painting furniture or using a small watercolor for an original print, use one of the many beautiful plastic brushes.
Start with vegan and natural cleaning products
There are now many vegan cleaners. You can find more information in our online guide to the best ecological cleaners . If you want to play even more safely, you can make home improvement and your own cleaning products. Here are some natural alternatives to bleaches and flavors that you can use with the certainty that they're vegan, smooth on their surfaces, and ecological:
- Lemon juice: a natural disinfectant that smells like fresh lemon;
- Baking soda: When you mix it with vinegar, it creates a powerful cleaning paste. Be sure to read our tips on cleaning with sodium bicarbonate .
- Castile soap: dilute with water and use this product animal-friendly and biodegradable everywhere.
- Vinegar: Use with a cloth and dilute with water and some essential oils to get a more pleasant fragrance.
- Tea tree oil: naturally antibacterial, just mix a few drops with water and use if necessary.
As I said, non-vegan products are everywhere, unless you know what you're looking for. Take the above into account and if you have any doubts when buying something new, read the list of materials and their origin (if so, you need the rabbit logo) and always the small print.
Be sure to use environmentally friendly toilet paper
Yes, you should even watch your toilet rolls! Be sure to check the logo of the jumping rabbit and choose packaging that is labeled as recycled or biodegradable. The fact is that some companies also use chemicals in the production chain and animal derivatives in the end product to bind the fibers. You need to make sure that what you buy is vegan certified before you bring your eco-friendly home.
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