How can a nail polish be vegan? Are all nail polishes vegan? Is vegan really important in a nail polish?

Do we care?

SpaRitual brings up a slew of questions, what with its “first vegan nail polish” marketing and free-to-be-you-and-me color names like “Can You Dig It?” and “Flower Child.” But the company is true to its message, creating toluene-, formaldehyde- and DBP-free nail polishes in a slew of fabulous colors.

What’s DBP, you ask? Also known as dibutyl phthalate, it’s a pesky little chemical that’s banned in the European Union because it’s been linked to birth defects, which doesn’t stop American manufacturers for sliding it into that polish you’re slicking on your nails.

In fact, one company that shall remain unnamed makes two versions of polish in their Los Angeles-based factory—one with DBP for the U.S. market, and another destined for Europe. Why keep that stuff in there, if you can make it without—it’s a question right there with who killed the electric car. But we digress.

The vegan question, that one we can answer. No animals or animal byproducts are used in the formulation or testing of SpaRitual products, which is a plus plus plus. And the company uses eco-friendly packaging and printing processes, including bottles made from reusable, recyclable glass, soy-based inks and FSC-certified paper. Finally, they donate the cardboard and paper waste from their Los Angeles factory to Trash for Teaching, a local organization that promotes education and environmentalism by coordinating with businesses to collect their cast-off materials, then challenging schoolchildren to find creative applications for non-traditional objects. After an afternoon spent with one Greenie’s three kids and a recycling bin full of cardboard, we see the point: It’s all about the cradle.

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