C onsumers are increasingly looking for eco-friendly products, and that includes pet supplies. Manufacturers of toys, beds, waste bags, and other items say pet owners are seeking these items and often choose eco-friendly versions over other products. For retailers, that could present an opportunity for a sales boost, if the stores offer items that match consumers’ planet-saving goals. 

Several factors are driving consumer demand for eco-friendly pet products.  Dog Poop Bags With Handles

“We believe that pet owners want to feel good and trust the products they purchase,” says Cheryl Pedersen, co-founder of Only an Ocean. “It’s about aligning with the brand and making a difference together. This equates to transparency and certifications from the brand that the consumer can trust.”  

One trend is to buy products made with post-consumer materials instead of new plastic. Plastic has been on people’s minds lately, perhaps inspired by media images of bottles and other trash polluting bodies of water. Beco, a UK-based company that is among the brands on Only an Ocean’s marketplace, recently announced that its newest range of poop bags are made with recycled plastic. 

“In addition to not producing any new plastic which we all want, the process to manufacture uses 44 percent less energy,” Pedersen says. “The result, an entirely recycled poop bag for pet owners that is strong and leakproof while environmentally responsible.” 

The brand also makes compostable poop bags and other items. 

Manufacturers are answering consumer demand for recycled materials, and are finding ways to illustrate just how much plastic was diverted from polluting the planet. They are also making sure they communicate these efforts. 

“We carefully source all our materials, but take special pride in the filling used in our toys and beds,” says Bill Parsons, sales manager at P.L.A.Y. Pet Lifestyle and You. 

The filling, called PlanetFill, is a post-consumer recycled filling material that the company reports has saved over 14 million bottles from entering the landfills and oceans around the world. Parsons notes that in the Lounge Bed line, 25 bottles are recycled per Small, 53 bottles per Medium, 78 bottles per Large and 108 total bottles per Extra-Large bed.

Plastic bottles are not the only source of recycled materials. P.L.A.Y. also offers Proper Pup Poop Bag Dispensers, made from upcycled excess materials from a variety of the company’s beds. The dispenser features a zippered compartment and comes pre-filled with one roll of Earth Rated poop bags. 

“Who says you can’t be stylish and eco-friendly?” Parsons says. 

While counting bottles and measuring the amount of recycled material has become a trend in the eco-friendly space, a larger trend is that consumers want to see evidence of corporate responsibility. 

“Brands and retailers of all kinds are also stepping up and going above and beyond to drive change in the industry to help support a better future for our planet and all those that live on it,” Parsons says. 

Certifications help to communicate this message, and P.L.A.Y. is a Green America Gold Certified Business, as well as a Certified B Corp. Also, Parsons says, the company uses all-renewable sources to power its San Francisco office.

Plastic bottles also play a role in the Earthstyle collection at 2 Hounds Design. The webbing that the company uses for the collars, harnesses, and leashes is made from recycled polyester that is made from old plastic bottles. 

“We actually have a whole video about how it works,” says Alisha Navarro, president. “They grind up the plastic bottles into pellets and then extrude them into long fibers and weave that fiber into the webbing that we use for our products.  It comes to us ‘white,’ and we are sublimating our own patterns on them.”

Customers love the line, Navarro says, but the recycled messaging is not the only selling point. 

“I think it might be more about the patterns,” she says.

Recycled plastic bottles are showing up in other parts of pet products besides filling. At Spunky Pup, the Clean Earth line of toys are made from recycled plastic bottles, and that includes the fabric, stuffing, binding, and thread. 

“We can claim that it is 100 percent made from recycled plastic bottles,” says Ward Myers, owner and president. “A lot of companies can only say part of the fabric or part of the stuffing are made from recycled bottles.” 

The Clean Earth line includes various animal shapes, and will launch more animals as well as different colors and textures this year. Myers says the recycled plastic bottle feature is especially appealing to young adults who disdain plastic bottles and tend to carry around refillable stainless steel bottles instead. 

“The days of buying cases of water has to be on the decline,” he says. “People are more aware of where that bottle will end up.” 

Myers adds that Spunky Pup has other initiatives, such as powering the facility with solar and using reclaimed or recycled packaging. 

“I don’t think it’s going anywhere,” he says of the eco-friendly trend. “I think in five or 10 years we will see it more.”

Cat litter is another category that offers innovative eco-friendly options for consumers. 

“Pet parents increasingly have multiple layers of wants and needs in litter care including performance, convenience, and sustainability,” says Kelley Bond, marketing manager for Boxiecat.

At the same time, Bond says, cat owners do not want to compromise on quality. 

“They demand performance, convenience and sustainability. We have observed that consumers are frustrated when they purchase products that offer sustainability but do not offer performance.”

With this in mind, Boxiecat launched ECO Farm to Box Cat litter, an all-natural, eco-conscious product line that improves soil health and reduces carbon footprint. The litter starts its life cycle from locally sourced soft red wheat and perennial rye from farms that practice conservation tillage, a sustainable farming method to promote climate and soil health. The company also offers Boxiecat Air lightweight plant-based cat litter, and Boxiecat clay litters made from a natural substrate sourced and brought to the market using the best environmental practices. 

“As members of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, we are committed to adopting the best sustainability practices as they become available,” Bond says. “We are always evaluating new technologies, methods and packaging that could function for our product types and are the most environmentally friendly.”  PB

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