Cruelty-Free World

In the spring of 2006 Mike and I had become fed up with always having to buy cool vegan items and accessories online. It had become a joke ordering a vegan belt and having to return one that didn't fit. Also, we knew that there were so many companies out there creating amazing vegan purses, belts, wallets, bags, etc. that if people could just see them in person they would realize that one could buy gorgeous accessories without harming animals.

Cruelty-Free World was born.

We knew we didn't want a brick and mortar shop, rather we would sell at markets and festivals. Our first step was to introduce our product line to our friends and see what they thought.  About 75 friends joined us and let us know what they thought about all of the products we were going to sell. We got wonderful feedback about price and which products people would be interested in buying.

One month later we introduced CFW to the world at the 2006 Boulder Creek Festival. Since then we made a decision to donate 100% of our profit to animal rights and human rights groups. We get to meet great people, have lots (literally thousands over the years) of conversations about veganism and support groups making the world a better place for all living beings.This has meant thousands of dollars to big, national groups as well as small, local groups and animal shelters. All by having fun selling the best vegan products.

We are totally grateful to the companies that supply us with the best vegan products: Splaff, Queen Bee Creations and Hempy's.  In the last year we have really increased our sales in vegan cookbooks, and always try to offer our favorites which now include raw and gluten-free vegan cookbooks (more about the cookbooks we sell in another post). What an incredible feeling it is when a non-veg family leaves our booth with a vegan cookbook or two! And it's even better when they email us all excited by how their meals are turning out!

This year we created knew banners that have the CFW logo but also "home of The Gay Vegans blog". I'm curious to see how that will affect foot traffic. Well to be honest, I am curious AND excited.

The 2012 Boulder Creek Festival is Memorial Day weekend in Boulder, CO. If you're in the area we would LOVE to see you! We are booth 802!

Thanks for reading! Thanks to all those who have supported Cruelty-Free World! And if you might be able to come and say hi in Boulder let us know: vegandude@msn.com

Our vegan business

Long before The Gay Vegans blog, Mike and I created our vegan business, Cruelty-Free World. We did this as a result of always having to buy vegan products, like belts or bags, online. Our goal was to show people that they could purchase awesome bags, belts, wallets and purses without harm to animals or humans (everything we sell is sweatshop free too) as well as offer the same products in their own community.

We decided that we didn't want a bricks and mortar place, but instead would go to festivals and farmers markets and sell our vegan products. We connected with companies already making amazing vegan products, like Splaff, Hempys and Queen Bee, ordered our favorite vegan cookbooks, bought a tent, and in May of 2006 did our first festival.

Our second goal became to raise money for animal rights and human rights groups. Cruelty-Free World generates direct support for groups making the world a better place for all living beings as we donate 100% of the profit from Cruelty-Free World to non-profits. Yep, 100%.

The best thing about all of this is that we have a blast, and we get to meet so many wonderful people that we might not have met had we not done this. We also get to talk with people about veganism, why we are vegan, and about the groups we support. Cruelty-Free World has become a wonderful way for us to introduce veganism to thousands. I love talking about my favorite vegan recipe or the latest amazing vegan meal we had at a local restaurant. The one on one conversations with people brings a lot of fun for us.

I love watching Mike talk about one of the cookbooks we sell, surrounded by folks who have never bought a vegan cookbook, with all of them getting more and more excited. We also pass out free PCRM veg starter kits, but if we can sell someone a vegan cookbook, there is a great chance that they will go home and experience for themselves how good vegan food is and how easy it is to prepare.

Recently we have been at the Neat Markets here in Denver, a monthly vegan pop-up shop. Our next festival is the annual Boulder Creek Festival coming up on Memorial Day weekend in Boulder, CO. If you're around that weekend come and say hi.

Thanks for reading!