We all place an emphasis on living a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, but have you ever considered making your pets go green too?
If we’re not careful, our pets can actually have quite a high carbon pawprint, so it’s important to take a closer look at the eco-impact of our furry family members. From pet food, to grooming to cleaning up after accidents, there are certain practices you can adopt to make your pet eco-friendly!
Adopt
The process of making your pet eco-friendly can begin even before they’ve entered your home. Adopt an animal from a shelter and give it a loving home instead of supporting puppy-mills that are well known for poor conditions and for causing over-population. Millions of cats and dogs are euthanized each year so adoption is a brilliant way to help save these animals.
If you make an effort to consume organic food yourself, why not adopt the same practice for your pet too? Conventional pet food is known to include a number of unnatural ingredients, including pesticides, chemicals, and added hormones. Organic pet food is a bit pricier, but it’s well worth it if it means that your pet is fit, healthy and toxin free. Remember to recycle food bags and aluminum tins too. If your animal has a meat-heavy diet, you could also consider buying meat from local, organic farmers instead to support the local economy and save packaging.
Poop
If you have a large animal, it’s likely that it will deposit waste at least once a day. Make a conscious effort to purchase eco-friendly, biodegradable poop bags to reduce your pet’s carbon pawprint. Plastic bags take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills and can be really dangerous to wildlife, so going green will help support sustainability and green living. If you’re familiar with composting, you could even go the extra mile and compost your pet’s poop!
Grooming
Bathe your pets with chemical-free shampoos to protect their health and reduce the amount of toxins that are pumped into our waterways. Make sure you read the label before you lather up your pet, and if in doubt, consult your vet to make sure that it’s suitable for your companion.
Toys
When you buy pet toys, consider the material that they’re made from and opt products made from organic or recycled materials. Avoid plastic products as these can contain nasty toxins such as bisphenol-A which can be harmful to your pet’s health.
Do you try to make your pet eco-friendly? Drop us a comment below as we’d love to hear your ideas!
