Hey guys.
I received a reply from a representative of Sonia Kashuk. As you know, in the USA Sonia Kashuk products are sold in Target, as far as I'm aware. They have eyeshadow, brushes, blush, eyeliner the works. This is what the email said:
"Hi Camila,
Thank you for contacting us! No, all of our products are cruelty-free and we are completely against harming any animals in any way for the production of our products.
This stance on animal cruelty applies to our cosmetic products as well as our brushes. We also ensure our manufacturers and suppliers do not test on animals as we are extremely against it!
Our company is very passionate about this as I'm sure you are too and we will diligently keep our policies as such. However, our products are not vegan, since we do use animal by-products in our line. That being said, all animal by products used are still cruelty free. For instance, beeswax is used in our lipstick. This is an animal by-product making the lipstick non-vegan, but obtaining beeswax does not harm the bee. Another example is our natural hair brushes. The bristles are made of animal hair, which is an animal by-product, but the hair is obtained through a simple hair cut, just like cutting human hair, leaving the animal alive and unharmed.
You can go to our website, www.soniakashuk.com for full ingredient listings of all products to determine which products have non-vegan ingredients and of course, all synthetic brushes are vegan.
As I stated prior, we do NOT test on animals, we are extremely against this and we are very passionate about anti-animal cruelty so we always rigorously maintain these policies. You should also be happy to know we are not sold in China, currently just the US, as I’m sure you are aware of their requirement of animal testing. As for the origin of palm oil/carnuaba wax, I am not sure if we even use this in production of our product but I will look into this matter further. I hope this helps and if you have any further inquires please do not hesitate to ask.
Thanks!
{names are omitted], Inc.
www.SoniaKashuk.com"
Although, not all of Sonia Kashuk Products are vegan, I would still feel extremely comfortable purchasing from them. They do not sell in China which is a big factor of how I decide which companies I will support. Also, they do NOT test on animals, which is my main concern. Does the fact that they are not completely vegan bother me?
No. I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan. I try to look for vegan products because I don't like the way animals are treated, They are considered merchandise and made to produce, and produce, and produce without rest. Like chickens, cows, pigs that are cultivated and feed at times their own meat, cows are given corn, pigs are given all the scraps,etc. I do believe God created animals to serve as our food, not all animals. As of now I would never go back and eat meat, because what I eat is normal to me. However, I support people who purchase grass-feed beef, and antibiotic free turkey and chicken.
Also, the fact that Sonia Kashuk is one of the first companies that explains in detail how they collect the natural hairs from the animals, shows me that they do not have anything to hide. They also talk about the manner in which they gather the honey. Quite, honestly I would research still more about their exact methods for doing so, but as of now I would definitely purchase from them.
I must confess I am really delighted with this email and feel that if more companies were like this, willing to produce awesome cruelty-free products, this country would be a much better place.
-Camila A.
P.S. What do you think?
Also, the fact that Sonia Kashuk is one of the first companies that explains in detail how they collect the natural hairs from the animals, shows me that they do not have anything to hide. They also talk about the manner in which they gather the honey. Quite, honestly I would research still more about their exact methods for doing so, but as of now I would definitely purchase from them.
I must confess I am really delighted with this email and feel that if more companies were like this, willing to produce awesome cruelty-free products, this country would be a much better place.
-Camila A.
P.S. What do you think?