When you think of perfume, animals often don’t come to mind. But, animal ingredients have actually been used in perfume for centuries. Those ingredients were (and in some instances, still are) attained using cruel methods that harmed animals. Additionally these days, most mainstream perfumes are tested on animals, to ensure their “safety” for humans.
Mainstream fragrances are also littered with toxic ingredients making them harmful to humans, and harmful to animals down the line when they are washed into waterways.
Is it possible to find vegan non toxic perfume, or in other words, perfumes made with no animal ingredients, that have not been tested on animals and are non toxic for people, planet and animals? Yes it is!
All of the natural perfumes in our Collective are vegan, non toxic and cruelty free. AND they smell amazing. They are all high quality, luxe and alluring.
Let’s learn a little more.
What animal products have been and are still used in perfumes?
Throughout the history of perfumery deer, cats, whales and beavers have all been used for their fragrances, and from all different parts of their body.
Musk: This smell comes from removing glands from a male musk deer. This ingredient has been used as a fragrance note and a fixative, to make the smell stick and stay.
Honey: Of course we all know this one, the beautiful honey made from the secretions of the mighty bee! Many perfumes still contain ingredients like beeswax or honey, so they may be classified as vegetarian but not vegan.
Ambergris: “Ambergris is a wax-like pathological growth found in the stomach and intestines of about one in a hundred sperm whales, and also in the pygmy sperm whale”. It is actually still very much used in natural and synthetic perfumes today. In the past, the whales were caught and killed to get access to this ingredient, these days it is collected from the ocean, once the whales have passed it through their system and they excrete it.
Castorueum: This comes from beavers. They were caught and killed to remove their castor sacs and get a musk scent. So bascially it is beaver anal secretions.
Civet: This is a small mostly nocturnal mammal native to Asia and Africa. Civet musk fragrance is the anal glandular secretion produced by both sexes of civet.
Hyraceum: This is also called “Africa stone”. It comes from the petrified and rocklike excreta of the rock hyrax, which is a medium sized mammal that looks like a big guinea pig.
Many of these are now synthetically produced, and not derived directly from animals. However, we also then need to ask what are synthetic versions of these ingredients being made from? And what long term impact does that have on us and our planet.
What is vegan?
‘Vegan’ is defined as “a person who does not eat or use animal products.”
A Vegan lifestyle is when you decide to not eat or use items that contain animal ingredients.
What is vegan perfume?
Vegan perfume is a perfume that contains no animal-derived ingredients whatsoever. So none of the above ingredients would be included, in their naturally derived form.
It is possible that the synthetic versions of those ingredients and scents could be used in a vegan perfume.
Keep in mind also, that mainstream perfumes never have to reveal the ingredients and chemicals in their fragrances, because they are considered to be a “trade secret”, so you will never know exactly what is in them. So if ‘vegan’ is an important consideration for you, you will either have to contact the perfume brand direct, check for Vegan Certification, or find alternatives.
What is non toxic perfume?
Our industrialised urban environments, inside and out, are littered with man-made chemicals that are impacting our health and the health of our planet. There are over 140 million chemicals registered in the worlds largest database, and only 3 - 5 % of those have been thoroughly tested for health and safety, and no research has been done on the interaction of those chemicals. We are part of the human experiment.
These synthetics have now been linked to hormone disruption, skin conditions, migraines, allergic reaction, neurotoxicity and even cancer.
Many of these harmful chemicals are found in perfumes and anything that has the word “fragrance” listed in the ingredients.
You can read more here - The Science of Toxic Fragrance.
Non toxic perfume uses ingredients that are proven to be safe, and to have no toxic effects on people, animals or the planet.
However, please be aware of a new word being used in the industry, “safe synthetics”. Many perfume brands are turning to this list of “safe synthetics” for their formulations, but they are synthetic and not natural. They are considered to be “safe” and “clean”.
I prefer to err on the side of caution with this. BPA was considered “safe” for a long time, and now we know it is not. Triclosan was considered “safe” for a long time, and now we know it is not. DDT was considered “safe” for a long time, and now we know it is not. So all of the perfumes we have in our Collective are non toxic and 100% natural.
What is cruelty free?
Cruelty free is used to describe products that are manufactured or developed by methods which do not involve cruelty to animals. Still today, tests are conducted on animals which are often painful and cause the suffering and death of millions of animals every year. This testing is done to research the impact the product may have on humans. So for your perfume, beauty products and even other household items, many animals have suffered or died to test if it is ok for you to use.
By looking for the Cruelty Free certification you will know that no animals have been hurt to bring that product to market. And none of the ingredients used to make that product have been tested on animals, not just the end product.
What is cruelty free perfume?
A perfume is cruelty free if all of the ingredients used to make it, and the end product itself has not been tested on animals, or harmed any animals in its manufacturing.
You can look for the Cruelty Free certification, or contact that brand direct to reassurance that their “Cruelty Free” claim is legitimate.
Do normal perfumes use animal products? Or test on animals?
Yes many of the mainstream perfumes, fragrances and colognes that you see on the market today have animal ingredients, synthetics and have been tested on animals. This is especially true of the cheap perfumes you find in discount stores, but even the big luxury brands still follow these practices.
It is a requirement for products that sell in China to be tested on animals before they are allowed to sell in the Chinese market. That means all of those brands have agreed to animal testing.
So, what is vegan non toxic perfume?
Of course there are alternatives! You can find beautiful, high quality and vegan non toxic perfumes! This ensures that no animal products are used, the ingredients are truly non toxic and natural, and no animals were harmed.
All of these elements are SUPER important to me. I want to know that what I am using has not hurt any animal, will not hurt me, and will not hurt our planet, now or in the future. That is why all of the brands that are in my Collective are vegan, cruelty free, 100% natural and non toxic, ethical and palm oil free. AND they are amazing perfumes! And I would even say they are better than the mainstream perfumes. The vibrations, intentions and quality of the ingredients that are used in each and every one of these are of the highest degree, they are quite special. I only wanted the best for myself, my kids and for you.
Here you can see our bunny Ernie! We do it for Ernie xx
Enjoy!!!
You can shop our WOMEN’s Range here
You can shop our MEN’s Range here
You can shop our MINI Discovery Sets here
