Veganism is trending, but dietary concerns are just one part of what it means to bevegan.

Theres also a whole other aspect of the lifestyle, which includes committing to using only vegan personal care and beauty products these are plant-based items that are free of animal-derived ingredients and have not been tested onanimals.

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Jessica Hayes

Jessica Hayesis a vegan beauty expert and freelance makeup artist. She saysthat participating in the vegan lifestyle comes down to a personal decision, but more and more traditional beauty brands are getting onboard.

I first became interested in vegan beauty when Itransitioned to more of a vegan diet, and then I realized there was much more that came with a vegan diet, saysHayes.

Hayes says a vegan beauty product is one that is made with plant-based ingredients and does not include any animal products or animal testing.One of the biggestenvironmental benefits of using vegan beauty products is that they are not connected to industrial animalagriculture.

According to a paper in the Pace University Law School Library, factory farming is a major contributor to water and air pollution as well as deforestation. Factory-farmed animals produce more than onemillion tons of manure everyday.

The New York Timesofferssome common ingredients to avoid: Honey, beeswax, lanolin (wool grease), squalene (shark liver oil), carmine (crushed-up beetles), gelatin (cow or pig bones, tendons or ligaments), allantoin (cow urine), ambergris (whale vomit) and placenta (sheeporgans).

Hayes sayswhen a product is considered vegan, it means theresabsence of animal ingredients and testing on animals, while cruelty-free refers to a product that just skips animaltesting.

Jessica Hayes

Veganbeautyproducts

Wet N Wild for instance, is considered by many to be a vegan line, but Hayes notes that since they started selling their products in mainland China, where its required to test on animals before a product can hit the shelves.She would actually consider the line to be plant-based, since they have no animalsderived ingredients, but still test onanimals.

There seems to be some debate about whether or not the brand has managed to find a way to continue its cruelty free policy while still selling products inChina.

On how she reconciles alove of beauty with her personal morals, Hayes says she became really interested in cruelty-free beauty. And beauty, as much as we love it,its not a necessity in our lives. So to test on animals for something that is purely vanity; there are so many other solutions and products that we can choosefrom.

Hayes, who is a popular vegan makeup artist on social media, notes that the community around cruelty-free and vegan beauty has significantly grown in recentyears.

Affordable brands include e.l.f and Pacifica, while mid-range brands she loves include Kat Von D, Lime Crime, Milk and Nabla. Hayes adds that beauty stores Sephora and Ulta have started making it easier to search for vegan products, so if you type vegan into the search bar on those sites, you will find a collection of their vegan productlines.

People are buying and discarding clothing at a rate that has never beenseenbefore.

According totheNew York Times, the United States generated nearly 12 million tons of textile waste in 2015, thats about 75 lbsperperson. Readmore

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This Guide to Vegan Beauty Products Will Help You Be Ethical and Gorgeous - WDET