November 1 is World Vegan Day, which kicks off Vegan Month. It helps promote veganism and its positive effects on people, animals, and the environment.
The History
The Vegan Society created the first World Vegan Day on November 1, 1944, to celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary. This society first coined the term vegan in its inception, but the ideas of veganism have deep roots.
Before “veganism,” people used “vegetarian” in the 1830s as a catch-all for anyone who primarily ate raw foods and no animal products. In 1847, the Vegetarian Society formed and changed the term “vegetarian” to include the consumption of dairy and eggs, but not every vegetarian agreed with this definition.
Discussions were held throughout the early 1900s on whether vegetarians should eat eggs and dairy. The Vegan Society was created in 1944 to create a distinction between those who did and those who did not. As veganism was created out of vegetarianism, it borrow its first four letters and was named by the Vegan Society’s founding members.
Today, there are an estimated 79 million vegans in the world. There are many reasons people choose to live a vegan lifestyle, whether it’s for animal rights, saving the environment, or simply for dietary benefits.
It takes roughly 12 pounds of crops and 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, according to earthsave.org. It’s not just about food, though. Vegans aim to not exploit animals in any way, including in their hair products, makeup, clothes, and more.
What Can I Do?
Whether you want to participate in World Vegan Day, try a week-long challenge, continue through Vegan Month, or even adapt to a fully vegan lifestyle, there are plenty of vegan options, substitutions, and creations available nowadays.
Many towns and cities around the world have events on World Vegan Day, including holding potlucks, setting up stalls to sell vegan goods, or even planting new trees. If your local community doesn’t have anything planned, however, you can still make the most of the day.
Veganism and cruelty-free ideals go hand-in-hand. On World Vegan Day, be kind to the animals around you and try to only eat, buy, and use vegan products: Test out a new vegan recipe, carpool or bike to work, or replace your empty products with vegan alternatives. To make this easier, we want to share some of our favorite vegan and cruelty-free beauty brands.
100% Vegan and Cruelty-Free Brands
While you can search for vegan products on our website, we also went through and found brands that sell completely vegan and cruelty-free items.
Makeup
- Aether Beauty
- Arches and Halos
- Au Naturale
- Cover FX
- e.l.f. Cosmetics
- INIKA Organic
- Lime Crime
- Pacifica
- KVD Vegan Beauty, Formerly Kat Von D Beauty
- Hourglass
Makeup Brushes and Tools
Skincare
- Aesop
- Cover FX
- Derma E
- e.l.f. Cosmetics
- Hempz
- INIKA Organic
- Kypris
- Pacifica
- SKIN&CO
- Skyn Iceland
- StackedSkincare
Bath & Body
Hair
Fragrance
Nails
More Vegan Options
While it’s great to order from brands that produce only vegan and cruelty-free goods, we understand that isn’t always an option. These are brands that may not produce all vegan products, but do have a lot of vegan options in their lines. We also mention anything notable about why the brand on this list isn’t 100% vegan.
Makeup
Ardell lashes
The lashes are vegan, but it’s hard to tell which makeup products are vegan.
BH Cosmetics
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
Catrice
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
Colourpop
Some of the products are vegan, others are not.
CoverGirl
CoverGirl was Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free in 2018, but it’s owned by Coty, a parent corporation that still tests on animals (when required to by law). Some of the products are vegan, others are not.
Eylure
The lashes are vegan.
Flower Beauty
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
LA Girl
Some products are vegan while others are not. The brand is cruelty-free, but it does sell some animal hair brushes.
Lottie London
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
Milani
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
Mineral Fusion
Some products are vegan while others are not. The brand is cruelty-free, but it does sell some animal hair brushes.
NYX Cosmetics
NYX is cruelty-free, but it’s owned by L’Oreal, a parent corporation that still tests on animals. Some of the products are vegan, others are not.
Pixi Beauty
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
TheBalm
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
Winky Lux
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
Skincare
Caudalie
Some products are vegan, others are not.
The Ordinary
This brand is 100% vegan and cruelty-free, but it’s owned by Estee Lauder, a parent corporation that still tests on animals.
Sol De Janeiro
All the products are vegan except for the Brazilian Kiss Cupuaçu Lip Butters because they contain beeswax.
Dr. Dennis Gross
All the products are cruelty-free, and some have vegan formulas.
Hair
All of these brands are 100% cruelty-free and have some vegan products.
Living Proof
This brand is cruelty-free, but it’s owned by Unilever, a parent corporation that still tests on animals.
Aveda
This brand is cruelty-free, but it’s owned by Estee Lauder, a parent corporation that still tests on animals.
Pureology
This brand is cruelty-free, but it’s owned by L’Oreal, a parent corporation that still tests on animals.
DevaCurl
This brand is cruelty-free, but it’s owned by Henkel, a parent corporation that still tests on animals.
Nails
These brands have vegan nail polishes, but other products may not be vegan.
For questions, concerns, or article ideas, feel free to reach out to our eCosmetics Beauty Editor directly at [email protected]
