How to clean vegan leather: what the makers say, and the vegan conditioner that won’t work on it
Wipe vegan leather with a damp cloth, then mild soap or a cleaner made for faux leather. Every leather conditioner we read rules itself out. 6 checked.
Tara Weaver
Tara has been vegan since 2012. She cooks for fun, invents dishes for the site and has tried more vegan beauty products than she can count. She writes about beauty and personal care, fashion and materials, everyday vegan living, the ethics debates and the recipes. No formal training, plenty of practice, and a firm belief that dinner should taste good first.
How long does vegan leather last? What a lab bending test found, and 6 to compare
No maker puts years on it. In one lab bending test, plain PU fabric and Piñatex passed the shoe-leather bar while cactus and apple samples cracked well short.
Best vegan sunscreens: 7 bottles read from the label, and the zinc one that isn’t vegan
Our pick is Coola Classic Face SPF 50. Sun Bum Original SPF 50 is vegan and Leaping Bunny certified. Badger's beeswax Sport SPF 40 is not vegan.
Is nail polish vegan? 6 brands checked, and what guanine means on a US label
Nail polish is vegan if it has no carmine, guanine or shellac. On a US label, guanine means fish scales. essie and OPI Nature Strong list everything.
How to eat vegan at a work event or conference
Ask in allergen terms, milk and egg, not 'is it vegan': the label has no US legal definition. Say you're vegan, not allergic, and pack a backup.
Is shellac vegan? No, and a shellac-free mascara can still fail
No, shellac is not vegan: it comes from the lac insect. Maybelline Great Lash lists it; e.l.f., wet n wild and Milani sell vegan mascaras instead, from $6.49.
Is polyester vegan? Yes, but read the tag past the brand name
Yes, polyester is vegan. The catch is the blend: PrimaLoft sells a goose-down blend and Polartec a merino-lined fleece, so read the fiber line, not the brand.
What is vegan leather? Plastic, plants, or both, read from the makers’ own pages
Vegan leather is made without animal skin. The plain kind is PU or PVC; Mirum says it is plastic-free, while Piñatex and AppleSkin still use polyurethane.
Vegan drugstore makeup: 7 brands, and the one that is vegan all the way through
e.l.f. is the only drugstore makeup brand here that is vegan across its whole range, with PETA and Leaping Bunny. 6 more compared, and which lines to buy.
Are condoms vegan? Casein and five brands compared
Not reliably. Casein, a milk protein, often goes into latex condoms. Glyde, HANX, Fair Squared and EXS cite Vegan Society certification; SKYN self-declares.
