How Eco-Friendly Is Your Pet?
You can use eco-friendly initiatives to go green in nearly every aspect of your life, including the house you live in, the cars you drive, the products you use and the food you eat — but what about the pets you love?
Have you considered whether your pet is eco-friendly or not?
All pets require food and water, and many also need other accessories such as bedding, collars, leashes and toys — but how much attention do you give to the items you’re purchasing and what they’re made from? The choices you make before you buy can all affect the size of your pet’s carbon paw print.
Here are 12 easy ways to green your pet:
- Eco-friendly collars and leashes / leads made from bamboo or hemp are now more readily available.
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Your cat will love you forever if you grow your own organic catnip or cat grass.
- Do you have pet accessories or pet supplies you’re no longer using? Donate gently used dog or cat toys, collars, leashes, beds, bowls and the like to an animal shelter or rescue organization near you at Petfinder or the SPCA in your country – recycle and help a great cause.
- So perhaps it’s not eco-friendly to insert an electronic ID chip into your furry friend. But losing your pet causes extreme emotional distress. Then there’s the paper waste from printing out Missing posters, the fuel cost of driving around your neighbourhood trying to find them, the phone bill as you bawl your eyes out to everyone you know … well, you get the idea. Ask your vet for more information. For hanging tags, consider recyclable (and recycled) aluminum ID tags or WaggTaggs made from recycled silver.
- Always pick up after your pet. Faeces left lying around may not only transmit disease to other animals that come into contact with it, it can also get washed away into nearby water sources and lead to further pollution.
- Don’t use plastic bags to collect your pets’ poop – it will be embalmed practically forever on a landfill site. Use bio-degradable materials.
- Alternatively, you can compost it. However, do not use the resulting compost on your vegetables, only on ornamental plants. If you have room in your backyard, you can bury an old garbage bin (far away from your vegetable garden) to use as a pet-waste composter. Or check out the Doggie Dooley.
- For your cat, clay-based litters take up more space when discarded and are often dusted with silica, which can trigger respiratory issues. Plus, clay is often strip-mined (cheap, but bad for the environment). Using litter made from recycled materials such as sawmill scrap or newspaper clippings is much easier on the environment.
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Look for toys made from re-cycled materials, rather than plastic. Animal toys are not regulated and so may contain harmful substances. Also, they may have travelled a long way from their point of manufacture. Alternatively, you could make your own eco-friendly pet toys – old socks, wool covering old plastic bottles and so on.
- For bedding, again consider the materials it is made from, and the transport involved in getting it to you. Either make your own bedding for your pets – from old materials in your home – or buy recycled.
- Choose eco-friendly, organic shampoo for bathing your pets. In between baths, you can give them a ‘dry’ wash with baking soda if necessary.
- It is important to protect your pets from fleas and tics. Instead of using chemicals, try natural products such as pennyroyal. I’m told adding garlic and brewer’s yeast to your pet’s food helps too. (Personally, I tried the garlic and no longer wanted to get up-close-and-personal with my pets – but that’s just me, I’m super=sensitive to garlic). Citrus peel extract is great for fleas – but do not use it around cats.
Hey Clare! I never thought about using old socks as toys! What a grand idea…and so much less expensive!!! I can’t believe the price of dog toys!!
We make our own dog food so I’ll be curious to read your advice on that topic!
Peggy Larson
It was bound to happen sooner or later. You’ve found our weakness I’m afraid. My puppies are in no way ecofriendly!!! We do however give them greenies every day but I’m sure that doesn’t count. If I could include a picture of my 2 Cavalier King Charles Spanials you might give me a pass though.
This is definately one area I have never thought of…my pet supplies….to be green…
Great!
Sales Expert
I would have never thought there are so many ways and items that can help people and pets on their Eco-Friendly crusade!
clare, I never would have even thought of ideas for eco friendly pet supplies.
Scott Sylvan Bell
Very eco-friendly tips for maintaining the pet’s healthy condition, too.
I just love my pet rock Cyril . Easy to look after .
Love your blog! If you don’t mind I shared it on our Facebook page: facebook.com/BayAreaGreenPets. We are professional pet related businesses supporting going green.
Hi Nathalie, thanks for sharing! Your FB page looks great!
[…] Is your Pet Eco-Friendly? […]
My cat’s favorite toy is ball of paper…very eco…
Sonya Lenzo
I never thougth of this idea and it is very important when you care about the enviroment, to be consistent and buy eco-friendly items for the pets!
With two cats, I like your suggestions, especially about the litter. It’s amazing what is in some of the products we use at home and with our pets that can be so harmful.
Jennifer Battaglino
[…] How green is your pet? […]
I am trying to find an alternative to plastic bags for scooping out the litter box. Does anyone have some suggestions? thank, Diane
Hi Diane
There are several things you can do –
1. Re-use the same plastic bag. Wrap it inside-out around your hand, scoop, and then discard the contents, but not the bag. Keep the bag in one place so that it’s used ONLY for scooping the kitty litter. By not using a different plastic bag each time, you’re saving resources, and reducing your plastic waste.
2. Reduce the amount of litter in the litter box. Because there’s less sifting and digging required to find and remove your cat’s waste, it’s an easier task. (Reduce the amount of litter a little at a time so that you won’t upset your cat). A huge amount of cat litter goes to landfills each year.
3. Use an eco friendly litter which is made from recycled materials or from a renewable resource. Try to buy one that’s made locally rather than shipped from overseas as litter is bulky and heavy to transport.
I hope this helps, and thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the tips. We use a litter that’s made from pine sawdust, not only eco-friendly but it smells like a Christmas Tree!
That’s a great idea Diane, I love a nice (natural) pine smell!