Vegan Day, what is it all about?

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We're pretty sure you're quite a conscious shopper, since you're reading this. That's great! You might also know it's World Vegan Day this Monday. Whether you do or you don’t, let us share with you, what it’s all about really.
 
World vegan day is celebrated every year on November 1st. We might have referred to vegan being the new cool every now and then, but actually World Vegan Day goes a long way already. It first occurred in 1994 marking the 50th anniversary of the UK Vegan Society and the term ‘vegan’. The Vegan Society was founded by Donald Watson - an English animal rights activist – and defined as a ‘registered educational charity that provides information and guidance on various aspects of veganism’. Back in November 1944, Donald Watson came up with the word ‘vegan’ in replacement of the term ‘non-dairy vegetarian’ (which was quite a mouth-full indeed). From then on, vegan was a thing. And so was The Vegan Society. In addition to Vegan Day, the Vegan Society introduced vegan month, in the month of November.
 
Vegan Day (or month) is not just there to celebrate vegans – though please peeps, feel free to throw a little party for yourselves or your vegan friends. Even more so, it's about raising awareness about how we treat our animals and the effect this has on our planet, about encouraging people towards a (more) vegan lifestyle, and of course sharing experiences and inspiration around veganism. It’s the perfect time (not the only time) to share your favourite recipes, your vegan beauty staples, the documentaries that most impacted you regarding this ethical and environmental issue, and more.
 
When it comes to beauty, you might not even realize, animal-derived ingredients are often being used in cosmetics. Most of you are pretty familiar with the term cruelty-free, a label for products and ingredients that have not been tested on animals. ‘Vegan’ however means a product is completely animal-free, and no animal derived ingredients are used, at all.
 
Common animal-derived ingredients found in beauty products include honey, beeswax, lanolin (wool grease), carmine (crushed-up beetles), and gelatin (cow or pig bones), just to name a few. Luckily, we offer an amazing, handpicked selection of brands and products that don’t use any of these ingredients in their formulations. 100% Vegan brands we love are, NOTO, skin expert brand Biologi, Aromatica, natural perfumes brand Abel, nailpolish brand Manucurist, Alder, The Very Good Candle Company, Bathing Salts by Verdant Alchemy, Ere Perez (except for their almond mascara containing beeswax), Le Rouge Francais lipsticks, period products by Grace & Green, Unsun sunscreen, Lola’s Apothecary, Dr. Jackson’s, The Kind Planet Company, and shampoo & conditioner bars by Hibar.
 
This upcoming month, we’ll do our outmost best to inspire you towards a (more) vegan lifestyle and to familiarize you with some of our vegan beauty faves as well. Please remember, every step counts, no matter how big or small. We hope Vegan Day - and month - will have its effect on you too, and to inspire you to learn more about veganism, to go vegan or to add a little touch of veganism to your life.
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