TheVeganKind Supermarket<\/a>.<\/p>\nCotton Shower\/Bath Puff<\/h3>\n
A good alternative to a sponge, these billowy balls of material are not quite as absorbent as sponges, but they do the job well enough for most people. Opting for an organic cotton option will further reduce the environmental impact (though any cotton is likely to be better than an alternative made from polyester or another plastic).<\/p>\n
Eco Sponges<\/h3>\n
Made from various plant-based materials (such as plant cellulose), the best eco sponges are highly absorbent and also 100% compostable as they contain no plastics. They are particularly good as eco-friendly washing-up sponges.<\/p>\n
Polyether Foam Sponges<\/h3>\n
Although these are arguably the closest you will get to natural sponges, they are not great for the environment given that they are made from plastics that will take years (if not centuries) to decompose. We\u2019d recommend opting for one of the plant-based options instead.<\/p>\n
Luffa\/Loofah<\/h3>\n
A coarser option than natural sponges, but very useful for scrubbing yourself clean in the bath or shower, a loofah is made from fibre bundles of the luffa genus of a tropical vine that is related to the cucumber. This is a preferable option to plastic-based products from an environmental perspective and \u2013 as it\u2019s made from a plant \u2013 it is perfectly fine for vegans.<\/p>\n
Cotton Flannels<\/h3>\n
Who needs a sponge anyway? For many, a flannel will prove perfectly sufficient and as long as you choose one made from cotton (or some other plant-based material) it will be vegan and should be relatively environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n
There are loads of other plant-based options available that have various uses (including products made from coconut coir or fibres), but we\u2019ve given just a snapshot to show you that sea sponges are not an irreplaceable item by any means.<\/p>\n
Natural Sponges: Conclusions<\/h2>\n
In summary, we can assert the following in relation to natural sponges.<\/p>\n
\n- Sponges Are Animals<\/strong> – Yes, sponges are very, very simple animals that probably don\u2019t experience pain and certainly don\u2019t spend time contemplating the wonders of the universe, but vegans don\u2019t use animal products and so vegans shouldn\u2019t use natural\/sea sponges.<\/li>\n
- Some People Will Disagree<\/strong> – On the basis that sponges are, in one sense, only just<\/em> animals, some vegans (or people who call themselves vegans) will see them as fair game, for want of a better term.<\/li>\n
- If You Find a Sponge It Could Be Vegan<\/strong> – Finding a dead, washed-up sponge on a beach (that has no restrictions about removing such items) could mean that using that sponge still falls within vegan ethics.<\/li>\n
- Loads of Alternatives<\/strong> – There are loads of plant-based alternatives to natural sponges, from cotton flannels and bath puffs to loofahs and coconut coir scrubs. As such, vegans won\u2019t miss out too much by foregoing sea sponges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4469,"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/is_it_vegan\/4468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/is_it_vegan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/is_it_vegan"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/is_it_vegan\/4468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4473,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/is_it_vegan\/4468\/revisions\/4473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}