How To Be a Compassionate Shopper

Every day, the choices you make when you head to the shops or out for a meal can have a huge negative impact on animals. There is hidden cruelty behind so many products.

However, the good news is that there are animal-friendly products, which do not involve any animal cruelty at all in their manufacture.

As a consumer, the fate of so many animals really is in your hands.

1. Choose toiletries, cosmetics and household products that have not been tested on animals.

Find out how to identify products that have not been tested on animals on the How To Identify Cruelty-Free products page, where you will also find the most up-to-date list of cruelty-free products available in Singapore.

These products are also listed in our Cruelty-Free Pocket Shopping Guide which can be downloaded here. You can also pick up a copy by visiting the ACRES office or from one of our roadshows.

2. Check out some of the amazing vegetarian and vegan food available.

We are lucky that vegetarian and vegan food is so widely available in Singapore- it really is easy to find an animal-free meal or snack!

Even if you are not a vegetarian, try having more vegetarian days and supporting vegetarian restaurants, or ordering from the vegetarian menu in a non-vegetarian restaurant.

You can find a comprehensive list of vegetarian restaurants and shops selling a wide range of vegetarian and vegan food at www.vegetarian-society.org/fdl.

The more vegetarian food there is available, the easier it is for more people to become vegetarian or choose vegetarian options. The less meat is consumed, the less the need for intensive farming of animals and the fewer the number of animals raised on factory farms. By choosing to cut down your meat intake, you really are making a big difference for farm animals.

And don’t forget the animals when you are overseas! If you are travelling, you can find out where to find vegetarian food anywhere in the world at www.happycow.net.org.

3. Use vegan alternatives.

You may decide to explore a vegan diet, which involves consuming no animal products at all, e.g. eggs and dairy and animal by-products.

There are many healthy, delicious alternatives to animal products such as milk and eggs.

Instead of dairy milk, try soy milk, rice milk, oat milk and almond milk. All are widely available in Singapore.

Instead of eggs try tofu (try scrambled tofu for a healthy start to the day!) Tofu can be used as an egg substitute in meals and savory recipes.

When cooking or baking you can replace eggs with many alternatives ( see www.wikihow.com/Replace-Eggs-in-Your-Cooking and vegetarian.about.com for some great ideas and recipes) or with special egg replacers that can be bought from the supermarket or vegetarian/health food shops (look for Orgran egg replacer). Check out the Orgran range for other dairy-free and egg-free products such as pancake mix too.

And just because you are vegan you don’t have to miss out on yummy desserts and sweet goodies! There are bakeries in Singapore that specialise in cakes and desserts that are egg-free, dairy-free and therefore completely cruelty-free! Check out Delcie’s www.delciesdesserts.com.

4. Buy non-leather shoes, belts, bags etc.

Most shops will have non-leather goods available. If you want to try some specialist vegan shoes (even the glue is animal-parts free!) check out the Macbeth brand, available at Boards & Stuff (Cathay Cineleisure, Far East Plaza), In:Famous (VivoCity, Mandarin Gallery) and Famous Brands @ Capitol Centre. Terra Plana also have a special vegan range of eco-friendly shoes (Terra Plana Shop, 02-04 Mandarin Gallery 333A Orchard Road).

5. Write to supermarkets/restaurants/shops and demand cruelty-free products.

Write to your local supermarkets and shops requesting for them to stock more products that have not been tested on animals (i.e. brands that are either Humane Cosmetics Standard/Humane Household Product Standard or Choose Cruelty-Free approved)- see How To Identify Cruelty-Free products for more information.

Write to those shops which do stock these brands and congratulate them and let them know why they will receive your custom.

Ask your supermarkets and shops to stock more vegetarian and vegan food options and congratulate them when they do.

If a local restaurant or food outlet has a special vegetarian menu, has a wide range of vegetarian options or adds more vegetarian options to their menu, drop them an email or letter or fill in their comment card to thank them for catering to vegetarians.

6. Spread the word.

Much of the cruelty towards animals in the production of consumer products goes on behind closed doors, far away from the consumer’s eyes. Many of us buy these products without even being aware of the cruelty involved.

Make it your mission to open up others’ eyes to the world of compassionate shopping and let them know how they can make a difference and be animal-friendly consumers.

Even the retailers themselves are often completely unaware of issues such as animal testing and factory farming. Write and let them know of your concerns and encourage them to become a more animal-friendly company by stocking more cruelty-free products.

7. Educate yourself even further!

There is a wealth of information on the internet relating to non-animal derived products. A great place to look is www.animalfreezone.co.uk

Another great source of information on cruelty-free and ethical shopping is The Compassionate Shopping Guide by Naturewatch www.naturewatch.org