PEOPLE: jessica bailey, cruelty shop founder

"The one stop shop for people who care about animals" ... Its their company slogan, and The Cruelty Free Shop really lives up to its message with everything from Vegan treats to soaps & baby products that are all completely cruelty free. But their cruelty free message doesn't stop there ...

Meet Jessica Bailey, the founder of The Cruelty Free Shop & creator of The Cruelty Free Festival, a travelling event that brings together the best of Cruelty Free products & business for networking & education. We asked Jessica a few questions about the journey so far & this is what she had to say.

What started the journey to create The Cruelty Free Shop? Until the birth of my son I worked in IT for 10 years regularly doing 60 hour weeks and scrambling to climb the corporate ladder. Being at home with Robbie gave me time to really think about how I wanted to live my life for the first time. left < Jessica & her son Robbie

I realised that if the large multinational company I worked for disappeared overnight nothing would change and all I was really doing was helping to make more money for a group of already obscenely wealthy men.

I realised that I wanted to do something that could actually make a difference and, as I was besotted with my child, something that would allow me to be a stay at home mother.

I had been vegetarian and then vegan for 10 years for ethical reasons and had often found it difficult to find genuine cruelty-free products in the shops, I figured that I probably wasn’t the only one having this problem so came up with the idea for an online store which offered genuine cruelty-free products for delivery anywhere in Australia  - a one-stop-shop for cruelty-free products.

And so The Cruelty Free Shop (www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au) was born. I started with a range of products including skin care, hair care, household cleaners etc. Over time, in response to demand, the shop has expanded to include a wide range of vegan food products which are difficult to find in mainstream shops.

How has the attitude towards your products changed since you started?

Initially the shop attracted committed animal rights people however over time I have seen a shift to the mainstream as more and more people become aware of the horrors of animal testing and how their purchasing decisions can make a difference.

Companies who avoid animal testing also tend to be ethical in other regards too, using much more natural, fair-trade and organic ingredients so the products are better in so many ways.

Vegan cheese is also a big one, our new range from the UK even melts like real cheese and sells like hotcakes not only to the vegan community but also to people with lactose intolerances whose numbers seem to be growing rapidly.

Logically it makes sense that people would be lactose intolerant, we are the only animal who drinks milk past infancy and the only animal who drinks another animal’s breast-milk – does that sound natural to you?!

What advice do you give to someone who isn't a vegetarian but would like to make changes towards a cruelty free lifestyle?

Find out which companies don’t test on animals (there’s a list at www.choosecrueltyfree.org.au) and switch over all your household products. This is a really easy transition as you’re not sacrificing anything, simply changing brands.

Meat production is not only inherently cruel but is also a catastrophe for the environment so reduce your consumption over time with the goal of dropping it altogether. Get yourself a good veg cookbook or use the internet to find recipes, you’ll be amazed how varied and delicious vegetarian cooking can be, and you’ll be so much healthier!

How do you balance your conscience with the challenges faced in a modern society such as incorrect labels, non-disclosure of animal products, etc?

It is disappointing that there is no legislation controlling animal testing labelling. Anyone can put “not tested on animals” on their products which may well mean that they don’t test themselves but instead they outsource the testing or buy ingredients from people who test.

The only way to be sure a claim like this is correct is if the company has been accredited by Choose Cruelty Free Australia. Accreditation is free so companies have no excuse not to apply for accreditation unless they have something to hide.

To find out more about The Cruelty Free Shop, or to go shopping, visit their website at http://www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au

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