How to Make Your Home Cruelty-Free

Look around your house and you may see beautiful furniture; but what you don’t see is the process of how they were made. Here are some changes you can make during your next home makeover, to turn your home into a cruelty-free haven:

1. Use Natural Wall Paint

Many conventional paints are made with milk protein binders, and contain a variety of toxins. As such, they’re not free of animal products. That is, milk is not cruelty-free. Why?

Cows raised for the dairy industry are confined. They’re unable to fulfil their basic instinct to of nurse their own calves. To obtain larger volumes of milk for human consumption, cows are pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. Due to such poor conditions, they’re more susceptible to diseases and reproductive problems. This shortens their lifespan by more than half.

Try using paint that consists of natural binders such as vegetable casein instead. Natural paints are toxin free and safer for your health. It’s also biodegradable and free of petrochemical ingredients.

2. Avoid Using Silk

Did you know that the comfortable duvet that you sleep with every night may not be cruelty-free? Many comforters that people use are down-filled and placed in silk covers.

Down is the soft layer of feathers closest to a bird’s skin. To obtain down from birds, farmers usually rip their feathers off. This causes the birds to suffer considerable pain and distress, leaving them paralyzed with fear and covered in gaping wounds.

It is the same for silk. Getting silk requires silk makers to partake in a process of boiling down massive numbers of silkworms in their cocoon.

To discourage such cruel procedures, switch from using silk and down products to cotton, linen or bamboo silk. These humane alternatives are still able to bring about the same level of comfort, without having to harm any animals in the process.

3. Use Soy Candles Instead of Beeswax Candles

Whenever you light up a candle in your house to create a warm and cosy atmosphere, have you ever thought of what they were made of? Typical candles sold outside are made of beeswax.

Beeswax is often obtained from melting a honeycomb with boiling water, then straining and cooling it. However, this process is very harmful to bees themselves, because it deprives them of providing comb for their young. In addition, in bee farms, beekeepers replace honey with sugar water which causes bees to be malnourished and more susceptible to diseases.

To stop supporting such an inhumane act, try switching your normal candles at home with soy candles. Not only are they able to provide the same atmosphere that you desire and give off aromatic smells, but they also have longer burning time.

4. Switch To Cruelty-Free Cleaning Products

Choose your cleaning products wisely. There are many detergent brands that test their products on animals. This leads to a horrible existence and eventually the death of these innocent creatures in laboratories.

Switch to products that are labelled as cruelty-free instead.

Alternatively, you can use natural ingredients to clean your home. Products like baking soda and vinegar are very versatile and can be used to clean numerous household appliances. Using them helps to cut down on harmful chemical-based products that may be animal tested.

5. Say ‘No’ To Leather Sofa

Has it ever occur to you that the leather sofa you are resting on at home is made from the flesh of an animal? Production of leather to produce sofas sentences an animal to a lifetime of suffering as they are slaughtered for their meat and skin.

Choose faux leather or faux suede sofas for your homes instead. They are much cheaper and more humane than actual leather but still provide the same amount of comfort for you to have a lazy day at home.

6. Buy Sustainable Wood Furniture

Switch up your wooden furniture around your house with sustainable wood. Synthetic wood is typically chopped down without caring about the damage it brings to the eco-system and wildlife. It produces tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming and affecting wildlife.

On the other hand, sustainable wood comes from sustainably managed forests that are renewable. This ensures that damage to wildlife is prevented. Choosing to buy sustainable wood furniture or flooring such as oak and bamboo helps to prevent animal cruelty.

What are some other ways to make your home as cruelty-free as possible? Voice your thoughts in our comments section or on our Facebook community page.

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