By Solana Kline — (A lifelong dog-rescue advocate and avid back-country motorcycle adventure rider)
When it comes to our four-leggers, most of us would do anything to make sure they are full, cozy, and tail-waggingly happy! We bring them in to peruse the long aisles of dog food at the ranch store and let them snag their favorite pig-ear off the shelf.
What we don’t often wonder about is the sustainability of these products we buy for our pups. It’s especially difficult at the large chain stores where most of the pet gear and food is manufactured out of the USA by large corporations looking to turn a profit. This industry is no small sector. The global pet industry is worth $261 billion (World Animal Foundation, 2023) and in the US, we collectively spend 136.8 billion on pet products each year. (Source: tinyurl.com/mm9atn8m).
Thankfully, we are seeing industrious small businesses all over the world who are creating amazing pet products made locally, sustainably, and with ingredients and materials that are non-toxic and non-carcinogenic so our pups can live healthier and longer lives while helping the planet as a whole.
So, what can we do? Here are some simple steps to reduce our pup’s carbon paw-print.
Buying Local and Support Small Businesses, and Buy Made in USA
Buying locally instead of from the big corporate giants has a huge impact on our local communities and on the quality of product you are purchasing. The community driven small businesses in the pet industry are using recycled, organic, and all natural products to make everything we could ever want or need for our pups. Small businesses are the heart of our country and truly do represent the little guys. The closer we can keep our dollars to our home communities, the healthier those communities are.
When we choose to shop at our local pet stores instead of the big box stores, our money is reinvested in our local community, and the ecological footprint is lowered by lessening the transport of goods and consumers. (Source: tinyurl.com/b4tuysd2) Our local pet stores are in touch with our local community and want to make sure our pups are getting the very best products and ingredients. They choose to buy Made in USA to avoid the toxic and carcinogenic materials often found in foods and materials produced by countries with lower health standards. (Yes, we are pointing the finger at you, China!)
Our local stores carry the organic, sustainable, and locally made products from small companies opting to use local human-grade ingredients and sustainable packaging. Here are some US companies that are focused on healthy, sustainable pet products that are high quality, easy on the wallet, and are built with craftmanship to last:
- Westpaw (westpaw.com)
- Cycle Dog (cycledog.com)
- The Honest Kitchen (honestpetproducts.com)
- Project Hive (projecthivepetcompany.com)
Buy Recycled, Nontoxic, and Biodegradable Products!
These small pet companies are choosing to make pet products from alternative materials like recycled plastic, natural fibers, and biodegradable materials, like Cycle Dog’s Dura Plush Dog Ball, made from recycled plastics. And Westpaw’s Big Sky Nap Bed made with recycled fill.
There’s even the Molly Mutt company (mollymutt.com) that masterfully crafts the cozy pet bed of your four-legger’s sweetest dreams! You stuff the bed with your old pillow fill which keeps the fill out of the dump and gives your pup cozy sniffs of you all day and night!
Check out the wool pet toys and products of Friend Sheep Wool company (friendsheepwool.com), like the Eco Kitty Cave.
And to keep that dirtier side of pet life a bit greener: compostable dog poop bags are cheap and a cinch to find. The compostable bags are made from cornstarch and plant-based polymers that fully compost back into the earth (tinyurl.com/yeyjcu54). Even swapping just one plastic dog poo bag for a compostable one makes a pawsative difference. Plastic bags are made from processed fossil fuels (like petroleum) and take 1,000 years to break down in a landfill and even then, they never fully break down, instead they become microscopic pieces of plastic that pollute toxic and carcinogenic (cancer-causing) plastic chemicals into our ecosystems and into our own human and pet bodies! (Source: tinyurl.com/yx7jf3jt)
Choose Food and Treats that are Sustainable
Dog food packs the biggest wallop in our pup’s carbon footprint. Pet food makes up 30% of meat’s environmental impact. (Source: tinyurl.com/d5f3end5). In pup food, look for sustainable packaging and local sustainable ingredients! Consider choosing small game like egg, chicken, lamb, or insect protein over large game like beef or bison and look for sustainability clues on the labeling such as local ingredients, pasture-raised beef, organic ingredients, free-range chicken, solar powered food production, ocean safe, etc.
The Honest Kitchen makes human grade kibble and toppers that are baked at low temperatures, use US sourced ingredients, are non-GMO, use fair trade channels, AND gives discounts to animal rescues. Our local pet food stores and Natural Grocer’s carry this food, give it a go!
DIY and Get Creative!
Reuse the Recycle: All of my tail-waggers have been obsessed with recycle! The next time your hound gets frisky for a fetch, toss them an empty (and well-rinsed) plastic milk jug or a cardboard box to destroy! Watch out for sharp edges or box staples and obviously don’t give them anything sharp like glass or metal! Once they destroy it, toss it back in the recycle. Easy peasy and FREE!
DIY: Eliminate the middleman, make food, treats, and toys yourself! Have you ever brainstormed hilarious and fun toys for your pup made from things you already have at home? (There are some fun ideas here: tinyurl.com/ph2a96b5). Or have you tried dehydrating slices of yam for your pup to chew on? Or baking up some peanut butter dog treats? Heck, my pups even love it when I toss them a giant carrot or a yam from the Prescott Farmer’s Market!
Making your own food and snacks is easy and just takes a bit more consideration if you are going to cook for them full time like making balanced meals (a how-to is at tinyurl.com/5eurct26), and minding dog-toxic foods. (A list is at tinyurl.com/3pjmrpxd). Sharing our food with our pups also helps us bond as a pack, you will notice a difference in their pack behavior in no time if you start eating with them!
In the big picture of sustainability and consumption habits, our pets can have a big impact. There’s a misconception that it costs an arm and a leg to buy local, organic, or sustainable products for our pets, but the reality is most of the cheap, unsustainable, and “made in China” pet products really are cheap: they aren’t made to last, and they aren’t made to be healthy for our pets.
When we choose local and sustainable, we choose health of our pets and our planet AND we get the best products while supporting our local small businesses! On the larger scale, we can support nonprofits that advocate for healthy pets and healthy planet via changing legislature and global business practices like the Pet Sustainability Coalition (petsustainability.org). Let’s raise some paws for the planet!
Until next time, happy tails and happy trails!
