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ALTERNATIVES
Some of you probably asked yourself "What the hell are we suppose to buy then, if all those MNCs have some criminal record?!". Well, I'm having exactly the same problem and did a little bit of research to help out. So today I want to start putting together a list of alternative porducts, that were not being tested on animals and that don't contain any ingredients originated from animals or are simply very environmentally friendly. But it's actually no big secret, that the best way to actually help preserving the environment is to consume less altogether and very selectively, so that each individual automatically also produces less waste and when demand for a certain product falls, then production will fall and the degree of environmental destruction with it, especially when it comes to "hyperfarms" and mass production (btw, these methods also destroy the livelihoods of many many small farmers and producers).
As most visitors to my site are from Singapore and I am also staying on that small exotic island, I will be refering to alternatives mainly available in Singapore. Alternatives are hard to find here in the 1st place, which I believe gives such a list additional value.
So here we go:
Vegan toiletries
Detergent and washing powder, like soap usually contain animal fats - products & their animal ingredients
Vegan shaving cream is avaliable at the Body Shop
glycerin, stearic acid, gelatin, etc are some of the animal derived ingredients found in soap or toothpaste -
toothpaste in Singapore such as Colgate and "Black Man" (chinese), are not vegan - list of animal ingredients
Earth Choice (dishwashing liquid, laundry liquid and floor cleaner). Each 1L bottle costs about $3.10 at NTUC Bukit Timah Plaza, NTUC Bishan Junction 8 & Bedok NTUC and maybe other NTUCs in your area as well, (usually located at the Australian Corner inside NTUC)
- No Animal Testing or Ingredients from animals
- No phosphates or heavy fragrances
- Recycled P.E.T. Packaging
This product rocks!!
A few Indian products are vegan, like Chandrika soap and Hamam soap
Vicco toothpaste and Vicco shaving cream don't contain any animal ingredients as well
Ocean supermarket in JB sells toothpaste named Najwa in a green box, which costs about RM5.50 and is suppose to contain no flouride - ingredients are calcium and oil from the Miswak plant only
Hannifa's in Little India sells flouride free toothpaste (S$4/per tube)
NTUC pharmacy is selling toothpaste which incl. Australian tea tree oil and NO flouride (not tested on animals) - medium size S$6.70 - same brand offers facial cleaner.
- Nature Farm is selling a whole range of organic skin care products - brand: Avalon Active Organics - Statement to look out for on packaging: "100% vegetarian ingredients. We have not tested this product or its ingredients on animals, nor have we asked others to do so." The whole range is less than S$100 which is much cheaper compared to counter brands (normal facial cleanser 150ml costs S$15).
- Organic Paradise is selling the same range of Avalon Active Organics.
Natural Bug Spray
- Essential oils like geranium and citronella repel bugs. Use it in spray bottles with water. Shake well to disperse oils before spraying.
Organic Skin Care
If you want to know which major companies do and which don't test on animals, then check out CaringConsumer.com! There you can also find a whole list of online shops, selling 'cruelty free' products, a collection of links to animal rights organisations and much more!
Anderson ice cream, contains no gelatin or eggs
Soylati – suitable for vegetarians, 1 liter tub costs S$7.57 at Cold Storage (CS) (CenterPoint or Takashimaya, Ngee Ann City)
Thorntons Organic Ice Cream - all ingredients organically produced (containing organic skim milk) - available at CS Takashimaya (Mango & Banana flavours) for S$5.95 (500ml) - made in New Zealand
Waitrose ice cream is suitable for vegetarians (Waitrose produces mainly groceries suitable for vegetarians, they have a whole vairety of products (French fries, ketchup, mayonnaise, soda mineral water, etc.) which can be found at Cold Storage, Jasons, Tanglin Market Place, Market Place at Sogo (B1))
Rennet-Free Cheese
Mozarella available at Jason's supermart at B1 Raffles City Shopping Centre - the ingredients list will state that it's not animal derived (one piece)
Jason's supermarket also has some other exotic cheeses suitable for vegetarians/vegans
Shredded Mozarella (Perfect Italiano) at Shop 'n Save - green transparent packaging
SuperNature
Park House Singapore, 21 Orchard Boulevard #01-21 tel no: (65) 6735 4338
Selling Vegan cheese as well (but rather costly) - the roasted garlic slices are suppose to be quite good, but haven't tried it myself yet.
Vegan Bread
Top One white bread
Top One wholemeal bread
Sunshine softmeal bread
Other alternative grocery products
Simply Delicious Organic mayonnaise (containing egg) - available at ColdStorage Takashimaya (B1) for S$6.01 (300ml)
Waitrose mayonnaise is also available at CS Taka (suitable for vegetarians)
Waitrose Organic passata (made in Italy) available at CS Taka for S$1.95 (500ml)
Waitrose Organic tomato puree (100% organic tomatoes) available at CS Taka for S$1.45 (100ml)
Waitrose Organic chopped Italian Tomatoes with herbes - CS Taka for S$2.45 (400g)
Muir Glen Organic chunky tomato Sauce - CS Taka for S$4.80 (794g)
Real Good Food toasted cereal topping (organic raw linseed, chemical free sesame seeds, buckwheat, chemical free sunflower kernels, almonds and cinnamon (made in Australia) - CS Taka for S$9.64 (320g)
Epicure Organic honey (made in England) - CS Taka for S$13.25 (454g)
Sweet William Soychocolate Diary Free chocolate (no artificial colours - no preservatives - no cholesterol - no lactose - no G.M.O.) suitable for Vegans! - different flavours available at CS Taka for S$2.80 (50g) - made in Australia
Mestemacher Organic 3 Grain bread (German Fullkorn) - CS Taka S$4.00 (500g)
Bioitalia 100% Organic pasta (Penne, Spaghetti & others) made in Italy - CS Taka for S$4.85 (500g) - Organic Paste is available at all major grocery stores like NTUC, ColdStorage, Jason's Marketplace and others) Prices range from S$3.00 - S$6.00
Alternative Ice Cream
If you want to know where to find a restaurant serving vegetarian or organic food in Singapore (or other regions in the world), then check out the following links: RegVeg.Org - VegDining.Com - HappyCow.Net (incl. Health Food Stores in your region).
Another useful list of vegetarian restaurants in Singapore can be found here: Vegetarian-Restaurants.Net
Discovered another great shop which is also pretty popular among conscious consumers. It's called Organic Paradise - belonging to a buddhist organisation.
Here are the details:
The Organic Paradise Pte Ltd (MOVED! - New location below)
Organic Paradise
62 Temple St,
Singapore 058607
Tel.: 6220 8148
Fax: 6220 1466
Alright guys, that's it for now. I might update the list once in a while. I can't guarantee that the prices are still the same and if all these products are still available at all these places mentioned. But if you notice any changes, then please let me know, so that everybody can benefit from it.
I didn't mention the other more obvious alternatives like Body Shop or organic products in general, but tried to put the emphasize more on the "hidden" alternatives not everybody might be aware of.
If anybody of you knows where to get FAIR TRADE products of any kind in Singapore, then please let me know. Furthermore if you know any other good alternative products or environmentally friendlier ways of handeling our daily lives, don't hesitate to share them with us.
Thanks.
Updates:
Small shop selling certified 'fair trade' tea
(the only one I know of that does so on the whole island)
eat ORGANIC Pte Ltd
eat ORGANIC
182 Bukit Timah Road
Tel: 6736 4868 Fax: 67364618
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 10am-7pm (excluding PH)
(Thx Sabrina!)
Finally you can also get FAIR TRADE products in Singapore. Well, at least you can drink Coffee, Tea and Hot Chocolate now without supporting slave labour and environmental destruction! Simply check out Spencer's Coffee.Com and they will deliver your choices to your place. It's all organic as well! It was about time that FAIR TRADE alternatives enter the stage in Singapore. But this must just be the beginning.
You can also get fair trade products in Singapore at the following locations:
Cold Storage
Fair Trade (and organic) coffee and tea is available at the following Cold Storage branches: Jelita, Great World City, Parkway Parade, Guthrie House, King Albert Park and Cluny Court. If you don't see it on the shelf, ask! In fact, ask anyway to highlight demand.
At present, only the Tampines store is stocking Fair Trade coffee and tea.
Marks & Spencer
At last check, all the coffee stocked at Mark and Spencer was Fair Trade -- under their own label.
Organic and Specialty Shops and Cafes:
Bee Natural
275 Thomson Road, #01-10
Novena Ville
S307645
Cellar Door Deli
619, Bukit Timah Road
S269720
Earthnuts
793 Bukit Timah Road, #01-01
S269765
Eat Organic
619H, Bukit Timah Road
S269728
Eclectic Essentials
Tanglin Mall
#02-01
163, Tanglin Road
S247933
L'Organic
Saturday Market
Organic Paradise
5 KoekRoad
CuppagePlaza #01-25/27
S228796
Organic Paradise
S058607
PS: If you are a student and want to get involved in spreading the idea of fair trade, then check out Fair Trade Action.
~peace~
