Dear Compassionate Consumer,
With February nearly behind us, Leaping Bunny is more than excited to welcome spring in a couple of weeks. Not only does the season bring warmer weather, but it is the perfect time for rejuvenation and cleaning. If you're not sure what products to stock up on before the occasion arrives, we have some great recommendations below.
This month's newsletter also shows you how easy it is to incorporate compassionate retail shopping into your everyday routine and provides you with the latest additions to our Compassionate Shopping Guide. Lastly, we interview the Leaping Bunny certified company, Buck Naked Soap Company.
For the animals,
Caitlin McGrother
Leaping Bunny Program Administrator |
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Cruelty-free Spring Cleaning
With spring just a few weeks away, it's time to gear up for massive cleaning. Here at the Leaping Bunny Headquarters, we are a bit obsessed with keeping everything neat and tidy. Kim Paschen, Leaping Bunny's Program Manager, is here to share some of her favorite household products.
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ECOS Laundry Detergent
I am a big fan of all-in-one products, and ECOS Laundry Detergent fits the bill. It is a high performing liquid soap that gets my clothes clean, removing odors and stains, AND it has a built-in fabric softener. Plus, it comes in wonderful scents that are synonymous with fresh laundry: Magnolia & Lily, Lavender, and Lemongrass, plus Free & Clear if you want to keep things simple. It can be used in all types of machines, and a little goes a long way. Plus, the list of ingredients is short and made up of things I can (mostly) pronounce.
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Aspen Clean Glass Cleaner
Don't you hate it when you go to the trouble of cleaning windows or mirrors and you end up with streaks, making it look worse than before? You don't have to worry about that with Aspen Clean's Glass Cleaner. It's made with plant derived ingredients and organic essential oils, and doesn't have that noxious odor other cleaners sometimes have. It's vegan, comes in post-consumer packaging material, and best of all, lives up to its name.
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Molly's Suds Wool Dryer Balls
Can you say game changer? These balls of humanely sourced wool have been a revolution for my dryer. Adding them to each load has cut down the time needed for my clothes to dry by soaking up extra moisture AND they act as a fabric softener so you don't need to add anything else. I've been using mine for a few years now and they are still going strong. Bonus: when they tumble out of the dryer, they make for a wonderful cat toy. |
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Cruelty-Free Shopping In Your Everyday Routine
A question we often get at Leaping Bunny Headquarters is, "Where can I buy Leaping Bunny certified products?" The answer: Everywhere! Cruelty-free shopping has never been easier, with cosmetic, personal care, and household products available in a wide variety of retail locations. Listed below are a few popular, highly accessible stores. However, armed with the trusty wallet-sized Compassionate Shopping Guide or smartphone app, finding Leaping Bunny certified products in retail locations is a breeze.
Target
Who doesn't love Target? It's a supermarket, drugstore, and department store all in one. Many people do the majority of their shopping at Target and it also happens to be stocked full of Leaping Bunny certified brands. Cruelty-free companies available there include Burt's Bees, J.R. Watkins, Method, Milani, and Yes To.
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Walgreens
Next time you stop at your local Walgreens, take a look at all of the Leaping Bunny certified products available. You may be surprised! Some cruelty-free brands include Alba, Desert Essence, Giovanni, Jason, and Kiss My Face.
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Whole Foods
This popular grocery chain has a wide variety of cruelty-free cosmetics, personal care, and household items available to choose from. Leaping Bunny certified companies available at Whole Foods include Deep Steep, Mineral Fusion, Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation, and Tom's of Maine. |
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Welcome, New Companies!
We continue to add wonderful cruelty-free companies to our shopping guide. Check out some our newest additions below. Make sure you click the links and show these companies some bunny love. |
Ajani Cosmetics
Handmade, small batch liquid lipsticks formulated without a ton of ingredients.
Ayelet Naturals
A complete line of biodynamic immune boosting skin care and body care products made with a holistic approach from certified organic, wild crafted food grade ingredients.
Bel Essence
Natural skin care collection that combines pure ingredients from nature.
Belfiore Cosmetics
High-quality products designed to enhance a woman's natural attributes.
Body By Bella
Handmade bath and body products made with natural ingredients, including raw shea butter.
Boulder Clean
Non-toxic, plant-based, biodegradable, powerful cleaners, and detergents.
I Am Selfcare Skincare
Affordable, high-quality skincare products made with naturally sourced ingredients.
Kett Cosmetics
Highly effective foundations, liquid pigments, and setting powders that provide long-lasting, flawless coverage with the flexibility to create endless looks.
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Olivia Rose
Luxury handmade vegan skincare.
Platinum Skin Care
Professional skin care products formulated to address most skin problems, including wrinkles, acne, dry skin, and age spots.
Rise and Shine Beauty Products
Toxin-free, vegan, all natural beauty and body care products for the conscious consumer.
Saint Bernard's
Natural skincare products formulated for the outdoor adventurer and endurance athlete.
Shemen Amour USA
Woman-owned company that offers a high-quality line of face, body, and hair care products from the Dead Sea.
Sunny & Honey
Household cleaners formulated to get rid of pesky stains and odors left behind by our beloved animals. Safe around children and pets.
Terra Luna Beauty
Natural skincare that is guaranteed organic, cruelty-free, fair-trade, handmade, paraben-free, and vegan.
Toogga
Sustainably harvested organic, natural, non-toxic skincare based on native ingredients sourced directly from the Sahel Region in Africa.
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Company Spotlight: Buck Naked Soap Company
This month we are excited to interview Rina Clarke, the co-founder of Leaping Bunny certified Buck Naked Soap Company, and creator of handcrafted, vegan, cold process natural soap and bath products. |
- What was the inspiration behind the creation of Buck Naked Soap Company?
Buck Naked Soap Company was inspired out necessity. When my infant son developed skin irritations from traditional baby products, the first 'buck naked' and unadulterated soap was developed. This soap was our Chamomile & Calendula Castile Soap. Three years later, there are 20 Buck Naked soap varieties and additional lines, including lip butter, solid lotions, bath bombs, plus Bark Naked, a chemical free line for your pooch.
- What is your favorite Buck Naked Soap Company product and why?
This is hard! It really depends on the day, but I have a few standbys. I love the Citrus & Comfrey Soap for its squeaky-clean feeling and the CocoRosa Soap for its creaminess and how soft it leaves my skin in the winter. I also love our Keratin & Aloe Conditioner. I used to have really bad hair and ends. Now, my hair is soft, silky, my natural wave is back, and my ends are amazing. I'm also always impressed with our lip butter. Seems like a small thing, but it lasts so long on the lips and leaves them conditioned.
- Are all of your products vegan?
Yes, we take great care to ensure that our products are vegan. We also take great care to ensure that our raw ingredients are considered vegan - that animals, the people and the environment are treated with kindness during the harvesting of raw materials.
- What is unique about Buck Naked Soap Company and its products?
This is difficult, too. That said, our bars are bigger for the same price. We also make, rather than purchase raw ingredients where we can. For instance, we make our own almond milk for our Oatmeal & Almond Milk soap.
We source our ingredients locally rather than have them shipped to us, which decreases our overall eco footprint. We do not see 'handmade' and 'natural' as one and the same. You will never see fragrance oil in our products, as we feel it is an unnecessary ingredient. Many people will make beautifully colored soaps with metallic flecks. These are called micas, which color soaps and are used in mineral based makeups. While mica is a mineral and stone, we do not consider it natural. The truth is that micas, while mineral based, are still synthetic colorants. That's the biggest difference between our all-natural soaps and the other guys.
- Why is being Leaping Bunny certified important to you?
It means a lot to us because it is third party certification that we are doing what we set out to do. It is also a significant and prestigious accreditation that allows us to demonstrate to our customers that they can trust in the Buck Naked brand without question!
- What is something unique about Buck Naked Soap Company that others may not know?
We started our company in our home kitchen with just $3,000 and HOPE!
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