You’ve made the decision to shop cruelty free. You know what you’re looking for when you’re shopping and from now on, everything will be animal friendly. Great!
But what do you do with all your current products – the household cleaners you’re still working through, the shampoo you’re still using and the laundry powder you’ve still got left in the cupboard?
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong here. It’s likely that you won’t want to use them up and I understand that, especially if you’ve seen a photo or video and realised just how horrific animal testing is. Some people will think it’s best to get rid of everything, start afresh, make an immediate stand. Tell the world!
I’m not so sure.
For me, sustainability is a big factor and doing what I can for the environment is equally important. The products in your cupboards have already been tested on, the animal derived ingredients have already gone into the bottles. The extensive process of making the product, packaging it, and transporting it has already taken place and this will have had an environmental impact in terms of energy use and water consumption. Tipping them down the sink and putting the containers into the recycling bin isn’t going to change anything or help the animals. In fact, you could argue that the animal suffering has been completely for nothing. The animals have suffered, and the product is being wasted. Using it up, contributes less to environmental waste and you can search for an alternative while you are getting through it.
You could pass it on to someone else to use, especially if it’s unopened but my thoughts here are that it’s best to explain the reasons why you are no longer using them. My experience is that, said in the right way, it can help to raise awareness. You never know, they may remember it themselves next time they are shopping and might choose the cruelty free option. Hopefully anyway!
There’s no right or wrong, it’s all down to personal preference. The most important bit is that you’ve decided to shop cruelty free from now on – that’s a game changer!
