Living Vegan For Dummies - Alexandra Jamieson [79]
Turning down fleece and down in favor of synthetics
Grandma’s feather bed may have been comfortable and warm for the cold winter months, but her comfort came at the expense of a lot of geese. Birds aren’t protected by the humane slaughter laws, and they’re often kept in terrible conditions before they’re killed for food. Because their feathers, or down, are then used to make comforters and coats, these products aren’t vegan. Even more disturbing is that some ducks and geese are plucked repeatedly during their lives to produce down, all without any pain relief.
But you can now find wonderful, animal-free, synthetic down pillows, comforters, and coats. Some of these products are even made from recycled plastic bottles. Fleece jackets and blankets are excellent at holding warmth and wicking away moisture for bedding. The Patagonia outdoor equipment company has been using this excellent recycled plastic fleece since 1993 and is saving tons of plastic from ending up in landfills.
Getting rid of pesticides in the garden
When you think of gardening, you may envision digging happily in the earth or harvesting fresh lettuce from your backyard. These activities can be wonderful and in line with vegan living — or not. Using pesticides at home to poison and kill pests and rodents in the garden isn’t a vegan way of doing business. These chemicals only end up hurting us in the long run as well. Using organic gardening methods helps you deter pests in the yard without resorting to the toxic chemicals used to hurt other species. Check out Organic Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Ann Whitman and Suzanne DeJohn (Wiley).
Making beautiful vegan music
Drumming, strumming, and fiddling around with instruments at home and with friends is a wonderful way to build community and express your creativity. But many instruments are made using animal products, so be aware when buying new ones.
Many stringed instruments like violins, violas, and cellos are made with glue made from animals or varnishes made with insects. And while the term “catgut” may sound familiar if you ever played viola in elementary school, strings for these instruments were never made from felines. They were, and still are, made from sheep’s intestines. Most modern musicians prefer to use synthetic strings, but some still use the gut strings made from sheep. If you have an older stringed instrument, you can take it to your local instrument shop and have it restrung with synthetic strings.
You now can purchase drums with synthetic coverings rather than the old animal skin hides. And even though guitar straps are often made of leather, many vegan brands are now made of synthetics, plastics, hemp, and other fabrics.
A quick Internet search can help you find a good used instrument. You’ll be saving money and the environment — and that’s music to this vegan’s ears!
Cleaning up your cleaning products
Cleaning products can be cruelty-free and nontoxic, which is a win-win for any vegan household! Choose your nontoxic cleaning products from companies that have taken a cruelty-free pledge. Biopack, Biokleen, Seventh Generation, Shaklee, Dr. Bronner’s, Citra Solv, and Green Forest are just a few vegan, cruelty-free companies that offer good cleaning products.
You also can make your own inexpensive, natural cleaning products at home using a few simple ingredients, including lemon juice, salt, and vinegar.
Here are some ways to use fresh lemon juice:
Mix a paste of lemon juice and baking soda and rub onto chrome or copper. Rinse off with water and then buff with a soft cloth.
Mix 1 cup of fresh lemon juice with 1/2 cup borax for a powerful toilet cleaner that will leave a clean, natural lemon scent.
Get rid of lime scale on faucets and taps by rubbing with a cut lemon and then rinsing well with water.
To naturally bleach linens and whites, add 1/2 cup of strained lemon juice to the rinse cycle and hang clothes outside in the sun to dry.
Reduce bad odors in your fridge