From veganfoodandliving.com
Can you buy a vegan car? Possibly not, but here’s how you can make your vehicle as cruelty-free and planet-friendly as possible.
Everything in your kitchen is fully plant-based, from your chocolate to your chia seeds. Your wardrobe is also entirely vegan – no wool or feathers here – and all the products in your bathroom are cruelty-free. But what about your car?
The vehicles we drive hide a number of secrets, and some of them might come as a surprise to vegans.
Let’s get the obvious part out of the way first: most of us are aware that cars are no friends of the environment.
Car production consumes a lot of resources, and the multiple parts involved make them difficult to recycle at the end of their lifespan. Driving also contributes to major air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Having said all this, many people rely on cars to make their daily lives work. Unless the infrastructure of many towns and rural areas changes, there is no way around that. In many parts of the world, public transport still leaves a lot to be desired, and families across the globe need their cars to get from A to B.
Choosing a more eco-friendly vehicle, such as an electric car, can be beneficial in cutting emissions, but electric cars are often more expensive. So, how can we ensure we’re driving in the most vegan way possible? Read on to find out.
5 ways to make your car more vegan
1. Avoid animal products inside the car
Leather is common in car interiors. Wool and mohair are common too, often used for floor mats. If you can find them, choose models which use fabric, faux leather or innovative vegan materials like mushroom or grape leather.
High-end finishes often involve animal products. Simpler options are usually more vegan-friendly.
If your car already has gear stick covers, steering wheel wraps or mats made with animal products, swap them for cruelty-free alternatives when the time comes to replace them.
2. Buy second-hand
Animal products are difficult to avoid entirely when buying a car. Choose to buy second-hand to extend the life of existing vehicles instead of contributing to new production.
3. Go for car brands with vegan options
Some car manufacturers are already embracing cruelty-free car components. When buying a new car, look into makes like Polestar, Volvo, BMW, Mini, and Fiat, which offer vegan interiors as standard or optional.
4. Check your tyres
Many car tyres contain stearic acid, which often comes from animal fat. Opt for tyres made with plant-based stearic acid — Michelin is one brand offering this.
5. Maintain and repair your vehicle
Take care of your car to prolong its lifespan and reduce its environmental impact as it nears the end of its life.
For kinder maintenance, use cruelty-free cleaning products from brands like Method, Ecover or Astonish.
Are cars ever fully vegan?
The simple answer is no. Like many objects that are used every day in our society, cars contain parts that are treated with animal-derived ingredients.
Manufacturers often treat plastic, rubber and even steel frames with tallow. The paint on some elements of the car may be animal-derived. Stearic acid, derived from animal fat, may be used in tyres. Floor mats are sometimes made from mohair, while gear sticks, handbrakes, and steering-wheel covers can involve leather.
Keep in mind that none of this is a reason never to buy or use a car again, and you certainly don’t lose your vegan status for driving.
The definition of veganism as per the Vegan Society is to avoid harm to animals “where possible and practicable”. So, if you are one of those people whose life would be infinitely more difficult without a car, rest assured that you are no less vegan for owning one.
Animals aren’t primarily killed for car parts, but for the food industry. If enough people refrained from eating them, vehicle manufacturers would have to look into alternatives to tallow and stearic acid (which some are already doing).
So if you have taken animals off your plate, you’ve already made the biggest change you can.
How to make your car cruelty-free
There are steps you could take to ensure that your car is as vegan-friendly as it can be.
For example, removable parts like floor mats can be swapped out, and foregoing premium models might mean that leather isn’t used in interior parts.
When replacing tyres, keep in mind that makers like Michelin now produce tyres made with plant-based stearic acid rather than the animal-derived variety.
Car interiors, often made of leather and wool, contribute to significant animal suffering.
One car interior can use the hides of up to three cows. Some may use as many as 15 animals.
PETA US investigated cattle ranchers in Brazil, which supply leather to JBS S.A – the largest leather processor in the world. This investigation found cows and bulls electroshocked, beaten and painfully branded on the face.
Which car brands offer vegan interiors?
When it comes to car interiors, plenty of brands are modernising and updating their offering with vegan leathers.
In 2020, PETA conducted its first-ever survey of European car brands. It found that several makers offered vegan leather interiors, both as default and on request.
Later, in 2022, the organisation updated the survey with new offerings from brands including Mercedes-Benz, Polestar, Volvo, Renault and Kia.
More recently, PETA expanded its survey to go worldwide, with BMW, Mini, Volkswagen, and Fiat having added vegan leather to their ranges.
“Car interiors made from wool and leather are the products of cruelty and harmful to the planet”, says PETA Vice President of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor.
“PETA is celebrating the growing number of companies offering vegan interiors as standard and calling on those still dragging their tyres to gear up to innovative plant leathers and vegan wools.”
Those lagging behind include some of the most high-end car brands in the world, such as Bugatti and Ferrari. These brands either didn’t respond to PETA’s survey or didn’t confirm that they offer vegan leather interiors.
Industry progress in making vegan cars
In the world of luxury, leather’s status-filled reputation is difficult to shake, but some brands are making progress.
Bentley’s electric model features interiors made from grape leather, a vegan innovation using a waste product.
After meeting with PETA, Tesla now fits all models with cloth or faux leather interiors. Porsche also offers its Taycan model with fully vegan, recycled materials.
Movie stars are also getting in on the cruelty-free car craze: Robert Downey Jr allowed one of his classic cars, a 1965 Corvette, to be upgraded with interiors in mushroom leather for the US TV show Downey’s Dream Cars.
Beyond vegan interiors, how you care for your vehicle also affects its environmental impact.
For example, switching out animal-tested car cleaning products for kinder versions by brands like Method, Ecover or Astonish.
And, of course, try to extend your car’s life as much as possible to reduce its end-of-life environmental impact.
Driving may be essential to modern life, but it’s never truly planet-friendly. That’s why it’s important to stay conscious and make compassionate choices where we can.
https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/features/vegan-car-tips-environmentally-friendly-cruelty-free/
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