Shop Products for Animal Causes: Retail Therapy Meets Activism

There are some things that just naturally go hand-in-hand: Almond butter and chocolate, peppermint and mocha (vegan, of course), coffee and books, cute baby animals and YouTube, and my new favorite ... online shopping and animal rights activism. What could be better than shopping for a good cause (aside from it also being retail therapy)? 

Thankfully there a lot of online shops that empower consumers to be animal rights activists; they either sell products that raise awareness or share their proceeds with animal organizations. 

Below are just a few that I came across today. With the holidays upon us, there's no better time to shop for yourself and fellow animal lovers. They make the perfect holiday gifts!

Animals Awareness - They partner with merchants and jewelry artisans from around the world to bring unique merchandise that spark worthy conversations about animal causes. Their online catalog includes t-shirts and hoodies, iPhone cases, and other animal-inspired items. I love their logo, too.

Arm the Animals < Making Activism Fashionable > - They're armed with an inspiring mission and a passion for helping animal welfare organizations, particularly small, "mom-and-pop" animal care organizations struggling to cover expenses. You can shop by collection, design, men and women's apparel as well as accessories.  

Greater Good - Perhaps more popularly known for The Animal Rescue Site, Greater Good is a network of websites that was created to turn "a click on a website" into a "force for good". Their sites also include The Rainforest Site (to protect vital wildlife habitats), The Hunger Site (to help feed the hungry around the world), and The Veteran Site (helping to feed veterans in need). With their Click to Give program, each click a day on any of their websites literally counts, and you can see the measurable difference you make.

For example, The Rainforest Site's Click Results show how many people clicked on any given day, month and year, and how many square feet of land, acres and hectares of wildlife habitat were protected and preserved due to funds raised by people's clicks. They reported that in 2014, user clicks generated funds for the protection and preservation of 10,321 acres of habitat (home to tens of thousands animal and plant species). This is made possible through Greater Good's sponsor advertising fees, of which 100% is given to their charitable partners.

Greater Good also offers other ways you can help:

1. Shop their online stores (they offer huge selections across their nine websites)
2. Sign petitions for various causes (featured on their websites)
3. Help them find new "click sponsors" (who fund the proceeds that go to Greater Good's charitable partners simply by advertising on their websites)
4. Spread the word about them!

At the very least, each one of us with access to the internet should be setting daily reminders to click the button on each of their nine websites in order to raise funds. There's no cost for us to do it, so there's really no reason we shouldn't.

Gradual or Overnight? Choosing the Path to Becoming Vegan

There are many schools of thought among animal activists about adopting a plant-based diet. (In fact, there are some who don’t even like using that term and prefer “vegan” instead.) There are those who think people should just cut meat, eggs and dairy cold-turkey (excuse the pun), and then those who think that gradually becoming vegan is better than not trying at all. 

I know this seems noncommittal, but I fall right in between the two. On one hand, I understand how a gradual shift toward a vegan diet is easier (that's what I did, but it didn't even start with the intention of becoming vegan). It also appeals to a wider range of people who may not have even considered a plant-based diet. 

However, given the 56 billion land animals brutally tortured and killed each year for food, I would love for people to instantly become vegan. But I know a lot of people have a hard time adjusting to such a drastic lifestyle change. Knowing what I know now, especially the extreme animal cruelty in the dairy industry, if I could go back, I would've cut meat, dairy, seafood and eggs right away ... even if it meant instantly giving up crack cheese (which BTW has a term, casomorphin. That's why everyone is hooked on cheese). 

My Evolution from a Meat-Eater to an Animal-Loving Vegan:

As someone with a 5’1”, 105-lb. frame, it may come as a shock that I was once known for putting down a 16-oz. t-bone steak. This was years ago when I was a meat-loving carnivore. But then the animal-loving part of me kept nagging at my conscience, telling me I was a hypocrite. How could I truly love both?

Image by VeganArtBook via Deviant Art

For years, I had purposely avoided reading articles about factory farmed animals because 1) Ignorance was bliss and the truth was too depressing, and 2) I knew that once I went down that route, there was no way my conscience would let me continue with my meat-, dairy- and egg-filled diet. 

It wasn’t until I read an article about how sick animals are making us sick that I really thought about the horrible conditions farm animals face. They have to be pumped with antibiotics just to survive long enough to be slaughtered for our own selfish appetites. What kind of existence is that? It really hit home for me. I knew that I had to change my diet to help reduce the pain and torture inflicted on an innocent being.

Becoming Pescetarian (Commonly Misheard as "Presbyterian")

I quit eating meat the second I made the decision to, but I still only became a pescetarian. I was one for three years, although I'd only occasionally eat seafood at restaurants, which wasn't all that much. It wasn’t until I kept seeing dead sea lions (on a weekly basis) along the beach that it struck me just how bleak the ocean’s health was and its effects on marine life.

I started reading about the reasons behind it and why thousands of dead or starving seals and sea lions (many of them pups) were washing up in record numbers along the California coast (and beaches all over the U.S.). The cause was global warming—nature’s grim reaper. Due to increasing sea temperatures, anchovies and other food sources were moving deeper and further into the oceans, leaving many seals and sea lions emaciated and delirious or dead.

Transition to Vegetarianism

On top of the already mounting problems caused by global warming, the demand for seafood has increased overfishing—creating a perfectly merciless storm for the already imperiled marine life. And just as I did with meat three years ago, I quit eating seafood in an instant. After about half a year of being vegetarian, I started shifting gears and mentally preparing myself for veganism. My trip to a farm animal sanctuary affirmed my conviction. I began opening myself up to the rampant horror stories in the dairy and egg industries: the ugly truth behind dairy cows and their “rape racks”, male calves sold for veal so that they wouldn't take the milk from their mothers (which was rightfully theirs), male chicks ground up alive (since they're of no use in the egg production industry), and of course the gruesome living conditions of egg-laying hens. 

Becoming Vegan

From there I ditched eating eggs and about 80% of dairy (largely due to my cheese and gelato weaknesses). I was also still eating products containing dairy and eggs, which I feel terrible about now. Finally, however, I saw THE video by Gary Yourofsky on YouTube, which really made me face the ugly truth of my vegetarian diet: There is no such thing as happy dairy cows (in some aspects, it's even more cruel than animals solely slaughtered for meat).

Dairy cows are used and abused mercilessly until their weak, infected, tortured bodies can no longer produce milk ... and are then sent off for slaughter. And when it comes to eggs, chickens are arguably the most abused animals on this planet. 

The Verdict

However way you arrived at this post, and whether or not you had any intention of becoming vegan, my advice is this: make compassionate choices--within your diet and lifestyle (e.g., vegan-friendly clothing, accessories and body care products as well as eco-friendly living). The only regret you'll have is that you didn't become vegan sooner or that you didn't become vegan overnight. To the meat eaters, pescetarians and vegetarians who want to go vegan, thank you for having an open mind and heart, and for your desire to live your values. 

Even if you can’t bring yourself to adopt a 100% plant-based diet just yet, do it on your own pace. Minimizing your consumption of meat, dairy, eggs and seafood is better than not doing anything at all. However, please be mindful that for every instance and every day you do not choose vegan, over 100 million animals per day are viciously tortured, abused and slaughtered to meet the demands of consumers.

Be empathetic. Make compassionate choices.

5 Ways to Get More Engagement for Animal Causes on Social Media

I often feel apologetic for posting graphic images and depressing stories about the plight of animals. As someone who follows a variety of animal news sources and animal rights organizations on Facebook, I know how overwhelming (and depressing) the stories can be as they flood my newsfeed.

But then I think about the animals. Sure, the graphic images and headlines are rather disturbing to see, but that’s just a momentary inconvenience for us. What about the animals that endure the pain and suffering, 24/7—those who can’t just simply look away and move onto the next, happier story?

So what’s an animal lover to do when your social media audience has grown weary of animal-related postings and petitions?

Here are 5 ways to help you get more engagement for your animal causes

1. Keep it short and simple. Summarize the article or issue by either quoting a compelling line within the article, or summarizing it in your own words. We know that people have short attention spans, so highlight the most important point when posting or sharing a story. Assume they won’t read the whole story and let them know if there’s a call-to-action at the end.
2. Diversify your audience. To help prevent your audience from tuning you out, post on different social media platforms on different days. This way, your Facebook friends will only see that you’ve posted once every few days, your Twitter followers once every few days, etc. You may be posting every day, but your social media followers won’t know that.
3. Sprinkle in happy stories. No one likes a "Debbie Downer". Make sure to balance sad stories with heartwarming, uplifting or even fun and irreverent stories (think Buzzfeed). By diversifying the stories you share, your content will look fresh and will less likely start sounding the same.
4. Blog about it! You don’t need to have an animal-focused blog to write a post about a worthy animal cause. You’ve worked hard to build an audience, now share with them a cause that is close to your heart.
5. Be creative. Present things differently, like a foodie pic turned into a call-to-action. You could post a picture you took of a yummy dessert like crème brule, and then add a line like: “This crème brule is calling my name, but all I hear is the pain and suffering of chickens. Sign this petition to ban cruel battery-cage eggs.”

These are things I try to be conscious of and implement. I know it's hard if you're an animal lover and all you want to do is shout to the world about all the cruelty and injustices animals face. It's a struggle, for sure. But hopefully with these tips, we can move people toward compassion for all living beings ... bite-sized posts at a time. 

Why I Finally Decided to Volunteer at an Animal Rescue

For years, I’ve wanted to volunteer at an animal shelter, rescue or rehabilitation center, but I knew that my ultra sensitivity to animals—especially when they’re suffering or can’t be saved—could really take a toll on my emotional wellbeing. I’m one of those people who can’t even watch a drama movie (cartoon or not) about animals because they always bring me down and stay with me for days to weeks.

I watched Happy Feet because I thought it was, well, happy… but it left me feeling far from it. And I’ve never seen Land Before Time because I know I’ll turn into a weeping mess (yes, even a movie about dinosaurs gets to me). And don't even get me started on Blackfish, The Cove and Gardener's of Eden ... I'm just not quite mentally prepared to watch them (don't know if I'll ever be). 

My Alternatives to Volunteering

I tried to help out on the sidelines by donating to animal organizations, and signing every animal-related petition and letter that came my way—from Change.org to Defenders of Wildlife. I also flooded my friends’ Facebook feeds with stories and petitions about animals and the environment. (At this point, many of them have probably blocked me from their newsfeeds after my one too many “Debbie-Downer” posts showing gruesome images and depressing headlines.)

I’ve even applied to PETA and Best Friends Animal Society but received no response. I thought that if I couldn’t help animals in person, then I would put my writing skills to use and work for an animal organization.

What Changed for Me

In the end, it all came down to me feeling the need to do more. That meant stepping away from the sidelines and giving a few hours of my free time each week—or whenever I had the chance—to help animals in need of care and affection. It was a win-win after all: being around them is relaxing and therapeutic.

Do what you're mentally, emotionally, and physically capable of doing to help. What matters is simply doing your part at any level, in any way you can. I just felt like I couldn't keep promoting animal welfare if I wasn't going to physically help animals. I needed to get over my fear of becoming depressed or attached to the animals, and just be that person helping to counter animal abuse and neglect. It all goes back to Gandhi's famous quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." How could I encourage people to volunteer if I wasn't doing it myself?

What are some ways you do to help? How did you prepare yourself for the emotional effects of volunteering in person? Share your tips below!