by Lalinda De La Fuente

So you’re using those funny spiral light bulbs. You know, the compact fluorescent ones that seem to last a lifetime. You’ve installed a low-flow shower head in your bathroom. You might have even made the switch from products high in chemicals to ones with gentler and more natural ingredients. You’re going green but did you know that your pets can head there with you too?

Eco-friendly Materials
Think natural, not synthetic. Most collars are made from nylon, a synthetic material made from petroleum. A greener choice is natural materials such as hemp or organic cotton. Believe it or not, many newer green pet products are even made from recycled materials such as plastic bottles.

Earthdog (earthdog.com) offers pet parents eco-friendly products made of hemp. From collars to pet toys to pet beds and blankets, this company offers attractive products made from this highly sustainable material. Hemp is not only a strong fiber, but is grown pesticide and herbicide free. Furthermore, it’s 100 percent biodegradable. Hemp also softens with time and can even be thrown in the washing machine. Earthdog’s collars come in a wide variety of colors and cool patterns so there’s something for every dog owner.

West Paws Design (westpawdesign.com) on the other hand offers eco-friendly pet products made from recycled materials. Their environmentally friendly beds are made from 100 percent post consumer recycled plastic. That’s right. They are made from old plastic bottles. Their IntelliLoft™ fiber fill diverts over 25 tons of plastic bottles from landfills every year and the bed shell is made of organic cotton creating a comfy place for your pet to lay their heads.

These products are also made in the United States. Remember, the less distance your products traveled from conception to your home the better.

Squeaky Clean Pets – Green Style
Grapefruit? Green tea? Colloidal oatmeal? No, these aren’t ingredients to a unique dessert but earth-friendly elements in a new breed of pet shampoos that are easy on the environment. TrueBlue Pets (truebluepets.com) for example offers environmentally conscious pet parents with pet grooming products that are detergent-free, biodegradable and contain no sulfates, artificial colors or parabens. Their SuperFresh dog shampoo features grapefruit, chamomile, green tea and sunflower. The result: a squeaky clean dog that both looks and smells great.

Just a note, throw your empty plastic pet shampoo bottle in the recycle bin and it could become part of the 25 tons of plastic bottles diverted from landfills every year that go into West Paws Design’s beds and toys. Being green doesn’t take a lot of work, just a little thought.

Poopy Patrol
Waste doesn’t have to be wasteful. For dog owners, try BioBag dog waste bags (biobagusa.com) instead of your usual plastic ones. These dog waste bags use no polyethylene and are fully biodegradable and compostable. The waste and bag can be thrown right into your backyard compost heap and will decompose naturally. BioBag even suggests burying the waste and bag with micro-organisms eating away at both quickly. BioBag also offers cat pan liners using the same biodegradable material. The difference though is that cat waste should not be composted, as its composition can be quite toxic. The BioBag Web site states that cat waste should always be scooped from the litter box and then put in your trash.

What goes inside those cat pan liners has also gone green. Swheat Scoop (swheatscoop.com) for example is 100 percent biodegradable litter made from naturally processed wheat. This litter helps eliminate odors, clumps for easy scooping and contains less dust than traditional clay-based litters. It contains no chemicals and no clay and is even sewer and septic system safe.

It seems Kermit was wrong. It’s actually pretty easy being green.