Star Wars Day: May the fourth be with mew!

Happy Star Wars Day!

Lulu is dressed like an ewok! I know she looks more like Yoda, but I couldn't get her ears back. Besides, she has more of an ewok's personality!

I love Star Wars. I grew up on it, and you never let that go. So I love it when we can mix pets and Star Wars together!

Here's some of my favorite doggy YouTube videos!

1) The Bark Side: by Volkswagen

2) Jedi Dogs

3) Jedi Kitten with the Force

And, here's some cool new costumes (hopefully) coming out this Halloween! I saw them at Global Pet Expo and they are sweet!

May the Fourth be with you!

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!

Cruelty-free review: Seventh Generation bathroom cleaner works great

"You don't need me for this week's review Mom? That's fine by me."

No bath for Lulu this week.

This week we'll be testing a bathroom cleaner made by Seventh Generation, a cleaning product company that is well known for being environmentally friendly, toxin-free and cruelty-free. I bought this product last week at Target.

"Oh, like you're such a neat freak, human!"

This is my kitty Galadriel's feeding area. And she makes a big mess all the time.

See the food particles? She's a very messy eater.

So on the left is the Seventh Generation, and on the right is the Soft Scrub bathroom cleaner I've been using. The Seventh Generation is much more liquidy than the Soft Scrub, which is foamier.

Both cleaned the spot fine enough, but the Soft Scrub required more elbow grease, and you can see what I had to do to the paper towels I used. Comparatively, the Seventh Generation was much easier to clean with.

Much better!

Two things about the cleaners. While the Soft Scrub often makes my hands feel dry and smell like chemicals post-cleaning, the Seventh Generation did not. However, the Seventh Generation has a very strong citrus lemongrass scent. If you're allergic to plants or certain fragrances (like my mom is), you may want to use gloves. I don't know that my mom could use this with her bare hands.

Seventh Generation bathroom cleaner retails for about $3 a bottle at Target.

Next week, we check out Method cleaners!

Animal testing: The products in your home that test on animals

As you know, I am working to switch over to more cruelty-free products over the next month.

What does cruelty-free mean? It means products that are not tested on animals. Not just animal products, but human products as well. Beagles, rabbits, mice, etc. All animals often used in product testing.

A beagle used in testing by AstraZeneca drug company. (Photo/ Beagle Freedom Project)

I thought it was important to tell you what products DO test on animals. These are all products I have found in my home. I am using the lists from The Vegetarian Site and the PETA list to determine if they are cruelty free.

Arm & Hammer carpet cleaner spray (Church and Dwight)
Crest toothpaste (Procter and Gamble)
Fantastik (SC Johnson)
Febreze (Procter and Gamble)
Glad bags (Clorox)
Glade Plug-ins (SC Johnson)
Head & Shoulders (Procter and Gamble)
Kleenex
Lysol (Reckitt Benckiser)
MAC Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
Mr. Clean (Procter and Gamble)
Origins (Estee Lauder) **
Purex (Dial)
Raid (SC Johnson)
Sally Hansen
Secret (Procter and Gamble)
Shout (SC Johnson)
Suave (Unilever)
Vicks (Procter and Gamble)

** Origins is an issue we hope to come back to in a future post. They say they are cruelty-free. We'll explain why many groups are not so sure.

Do you have these products in your home? There's nothing to be ashamed of. Lord knows it is not easy, and I don't expect to succeed in going completely cruelty free myself.

But can I challenge you to try and change out at least some of your products? If enough people do so, we can send a message to those companies.

Here are some websites that list cruelty-free products, and watch this blog as we look for products in regular stores that fit the cruelty-free bill.

Leaping Bunny.org
PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies List
The Vegetarian Site

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!

REVIEW: Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps and Organic Oscar

It's review day in our 30-day Cruelty-Free Challenge!

Today, Lulu got a bath.

She hates baths. But it can't always be fun and games.

Lately, we've been using two products for Lulu's baths. Both happen to be cruelty-free.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps has been around for years. It's fair trade, organic, cruelty-free and has all sorts of uses. Even the bottle is made from recyclable material. And it only has a few ingredients:

Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Tea Tree Extract, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol 

I like to use the Tea Tree Oil soap on Lulu. It works really well in getting rid of fleas. I didn't think Lulu had any, but just in case, I figured I'd give it a shot.

I let her stay in the tub after soaping for a few minutes. No fleas when I rinsed her off this time, but believe me, the fleas just fall off using Dr. Bronner's.

Dr. Bronner's comes in many scents. I have a friend who uses different scents on her dogs for different things -- lavender for calming, eucalyptus for itchiness.

And Dr. Bronner's is not just for dogs. I've used that same bottle as a shampoo for my own hair. You can wash yourself with it. Dr. Bronner's says a single bottle has 18 different uses.

My only big problem with the Dr. Bronner's is afterwards. The fur can feel a bit... resiny afterwards.

That's when I break out the Organic Oscar. I got this in my Wag-in-the-Box back in January, and it's a fantastic product.

Organic Oscar has only been around for a few years, but it's a great shampoo for dogs with sensitive skin. It also is cruelty-free and organic (obviously). Here are the ingredients:

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice*, Decyl Glucoside, Purified Water USP, Lauryl Glucoside, Citrus Urantium, Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Water*, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil*, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, PCA Glyceryl Oleate, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Gluconolactone, Sodium Benzoate

 I apply it on Lulu the same way I apply the Dr. Bronner's -- coat evenly, let it sit for a bit, rinse off. It leaves Lulu's fur feeling so soft. 

Now if only she would stop drying herself on the furniture.

You can find Dr. Bronner's at Target stores, Whole Foods Markets, Vitamin Shoppes, and other health food stores. They have a store locator on its website.

Organic Oscar is less easy to find. It is, of course, available on Amazon.com, and it's also available on the Organic Oscar website. Right now it's selling for $9.99 a bottle.


And, both products are on the Leaping Bunny cruelty-free shopping list!

I have a discount code for Wag-in-the-Box, where every month, great products like Organic Oscar will be sent to you.

Head to their website, purchase your subscription order. You can buy by the box, or purchase three-month or six-month subscriptions. In checkout, just add one of these codes:

• 5WagsFurLifeWithBeagle - $5 off 1-month membership purchase 
• 10WagsFurLifeWithBeagle - $10 off 3 or 6-month membership purchase

This discount is only for first-time customers.  

Helping beagles this Earth Day: A cruelty-free challenge!

Happy Earth Day!

There are lots of ways you and your pets can help the environment. You can:

• Shop from local stores and companies
• Recycle your pet food containers, like dog food cans
• Buy products made from recyclable materials (like from Planet Dog -- we'll be talking more about that this week)

Another way is to buy products that are safe for the environment -- and for animals.

Beagle Freedom Project says 70,000 beagles are currently used for research experiments, and millions of animals around the world are in cages.

So in the next month, I'll be looking at cruelty-free products -- products made by companies that don't test on animals. Everything from hand lotion to laundry detergent. I'll be trying to add those in my home. It's not always easy -- but we will review those products and tell you which ones are good and useful.

How can you find cruelty-free products for you home?

There's a website called Leaping Bunny. It was founded by 1996 by a group of animal protection leagues to end animal testing. They have a list of cruelty-free products, and even a shopping guide. We'll use this list to find those products.

So I hope you'll join me for this challenge. I'll be posting about a new product every Wednesday!

What cruelty-free products do you use? What cruelty-free products do you suggest I review?