Where to buy cruelty-free: CVS and Walgreens

 We've checked out Target and Walmart for products that don't test on animals. This week, we are checking out pharmacies.


And the pharmacies by me are CVS and Walgreens.

 

Now, you would think a place that specializes in certain types of products would have more cruelty-free products. But they were tougher to find.

I found Burt's Bees easily at CVS, but much everything else was tougher to find. I will say though, the variety was different from the other stores.

Freeman Botanicals

Dickinson's Witch Hazel

Tom's of Maine Deodorant -- with a larger selection, and more expensive!

Paul Mitchell products.

Nuance by Salma Hayek -- Hair care and skincare products. These appear to be sold exclusively at CVS, and claim to be cruelty-free, though I can't find them on either the Leaping Bunny and PETA lists.

In the baby section, there was Burt's Bees and Seventh Generation products. There was also Little Twig products, which are on the PETA list. 

 

This is a brand new Walgreens. It's huge, open and airy. But it didn't have many products.

They had the Burt's Bees, the Paul Mitchell, the Tom's of Maine Deodorant and toothpaste, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, the Freeman Botanicals and they had Queen Helene products. I think they also had Rusk shampoo, but I was trying not to draw too much attention. Lots of people working at that store.

In the baby area they had two products: Babyganics, and live clean baby. The products claim to be cruelty-free, the live clean baby even has a bunny on the back. But they don't show up on either list.

 So some pharmacies have cruelty-free products, but they are extremely limited. And many are not even on the PETA or Leaping Bunny lists. I'm still trying to figure out what that means. 

NEXT WEEK: We will check out the supermarkets. That will be slightly harder, and should be interesting.

Cruelty-free Review: Method laundry detergent

We continue to review products that do not test on animals, as part of our cruelty-free challenge!

It's laundry day! We bought this little bottle of Method laundry detergent during our trip to Target. We know it's cruelty-free, but will it work?

Today, we'll be doing a load of Lulu's things.

Lulu's blanket.

Lulu's towel (From I Love Pet Head, we'll talk about these products later. They are great!)

Lulu's Anxiety Wrap, inside out.

And Lulu's Thundershirt. This will require a squirt of detergent for stain spotting. Lulu decided to pee at the park, and then roll in it.

Since it's a small load, we only need two squirts of laundry detergent. Method is highly concentrated, which is why the bottle is so small.

And while that's washing, I cuddle Lulu... And we play with her bunny...

And after a quick switch over to the dryer....

We have clean clothes! Particular the Thundershirt, which even smells better!

And Lulu is happy to have her blanket back!

 As good as Method laundry detergent is, it's not cheap.

A 25 load bottle is $7.99 at Target normally. A 50-load bottle is $14.99. You can also buy a bottle refill for $20 that includes 100 loads of detergent.

But if you want to try it out, you can also buy a small bottle for $2.99 that holds 8 loads.

You can find Method at Target, BJ's Wholesale Club, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Lowe's, and numerous supermarkets across the country, including Waldbaums's, Wegmans, Kroger, and more. It's also available in Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.

Find out where to find Method products by you on the company website.

Where to buy cruelty-free: Walmart

So last week we went shopping for cruelty-free products at Target. This week, as promised, we went to Walmart.

Walmart Supercenter in Orlando. (Courtesy Weingarten)

Walmart is bigger than even the Target Supercenter. Is it possible they have more cruelty-free products than Target?

I needed deodorant anyway, so I started in the beauty aisles. But although there was twice as much room for things like shampoo, there were few cruelty-free products on the shelves.

I found the Tom's of Maine toothpaste for adults and children.

And the deodorant.

But, as with Target, most of the other personal care products were in one section with the cosmetics.

Here's the Burt's Bees.

Gud by Burt's Bees.

Alba Botanicals.

Giovanni shampoos and conditioners. All the same products that were in Target. But there were a few others.

Avalon Organics.

And Queen Helene Cocoa Butter, which some of my friends rave about.

Then there's Flower Cosmetics, by Drew Barrymore. These are not on the Leaping Bunny or PETA lists. However....

They say they are cruelty-free. We will have to check up on this claim.

Then we headed to the household cleaners. There were Seventh Generation cleaners and laundry detergent, but there was also Earth Friendly Products household cleaner.

 And laundry detergent.

So, overall, I think the number of products between Target and Walmart evens out, and Walmart may even edge Target out. However, that's really silly since Walmart is bigger. Instead of Earth-friendly products tucked randomly in corners, there should be more, and they should be spotlighted. I feel the same way about Target too.

So I bought the Tom's of Maine deodorant, since I needed it.

Next week, we check out the pharmacies, CVS and Walgreens!

Where to buy cruelty-free: Target

One thing people think when considering going cruelty-free is that they will find themselves shopping at health and organic shops.

But it's not true.

Every Friday I will try to show you how easy it is to find cruelty-free products, like laundry detergent and hand lotion, at your favorite stores.

Today, we're going to Target.

As I walked into my Target Supercenter, I was excited to see several cruelty-free products in the flier for this week!

My first stop was the cleaning products section. I do actually need a few things, so this was the perfect time.

Jackpot! Two cruelty-free laundry detergents right next to each other: Method and Seventh Generation.

I decided to go with Method, since it was a smaller bottle, and a bit cheaper.

Look how tiny it is! This $6 bottle is 25 loads of laundry! I usually buy All or Purex, which is a couple of dollars cheaper.

Next I needed some cleaners. Method, Mrs. Meyer's and Seventh Generation cleaners were all next to each other on that part of the aisle.

I chose the Method glass cleaner.

The Mrs. Meyer's surface cleaner.

And the Seventh Generation bathroom cleaner.

And in the next aisle, I grabbed a bottle of the Seventh Generation dish soap.

All these products are cruelty-free.

These were easy to find.

But the problem with Target is sometimes things are not where they should be. For instance, Mrs. Meyer's and Method hand soaps were with the household cleaners.

Shampoos were in the beauty products section.

This is Giovanni, a cruelty-free shampoo and conditioner. And I found it in the beauty products section.

Right next to the Burt's Bees section, which also has shampoos and conditioners. Did you know that?

They also have makeup and other products, on top of that familiar lip balm we all know.

I also found Alba Botanicals, Gud, by Burt's Bees, and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps.

I also found E.L.F. Cosmetics. These are not on the Leaping Bunny list, but they are on the PETA lists.

Finally, I found one last product in Toothpaste section.

Tom's of Maine was next to the Sensodyne! And they even have a children's version.

So it is possible to find lots of great cruelty-free products in Target. You just have to look a little harder.

Here are the products I bought. I'll be reviewing these over the next few weeks.

Next week, we'll be checking out Walmart!