What are "Green" Pet Supplies?  

Recycled Materials - Reusing items diverts waste from landfills.

There are many items in the store made from recycled materials; from beds that use fleece made from recycled soda bottles and stuffed with fleece scraps to one of a kind metal animals cut from the hoods of old cars.  We all know that recycling is important, but purchasing products made with recycled materials "closes the loop".

Organic /Natural ingredients - Avoiding pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and chemical preservatives is good for our animals and for our environment..

We love to find foods and treats made with natural and organic ingredients. Our Wet Noses cookies are a great example. They're handmade in Washington, using organic produce, free range meat and poultry, and organic grains and flours. The results are several well loved flavors by many of the dogs that taste them. The Pumpkin treats are especially popular, and are even wheat free - wheat isn't necessarily a bad ingredient for those that aren't allergic to it, but for those that are it's nice to have such a delicious treat available. (By the way, there are very few treats we sell at our store that I wouldn't encourage you to pop right into your own mouth - the ingredients are human grade and natural - nothing you wouldn't have in your own food!) Another favorite of ours is Magic Snacks - made right here in North Portland from organic ingredients, they make a lovely little gift as they are packaged in clear cellophane with big red ribbons. They're cute and delicious!

Sustainable Sources - Choosing products that minimize our impact on the environment means our planet's resources are not depleted as rapidly.

It's important to us to provide alternatives to common materials in order to lessen the impact of their use. For example, did you know that 1.5 million tons of clay is strip-mined every year to make cat litter? The sad thing is that we then turn around and landfill it as well, where it will never go away. Another source says every week we landfill 50,000 lbs of clay litter. That's more than disposable diapers! Cat litter can be made from all sorts of alternative ingredients - wheat, corn, mill wastes like Pine and Cedar, even recycled newspaper. The beauty of all of these litters is not only do they come from a sustainable source and work as well as clay, they can be composted, or even flushed right down the toilet. How easy is that?

Durable Products - If one toy lasts as long as 30 less durable toys, There are 29 fewer toys in the landfill.  

My best friend has two big American Bulldogs that love (I mean LOVE) to play with the flying disc. Trouble is, every time they’d catch one, there’d be tooth holes in it, as their jaws are so strong. Every day she’d throw away a mangled 99 cent disc. What a waste and a big expense for her over time. Then she found this product called JAWZ. It’s a flying disc made for competition flying disc dogs and it is so puncture resistant that it solved her whole problem. She’s had one of those things for three years without a hole in it. There are a few hundred fewer plastic discs in her landfill, and she only paid $12.95 for 3 years of flying disc fun (obsession?). We had a big epiphany when she told us about this, realizing that durability was going to be one of our definitions of a “green” pet supply. There is no perfect toy, nothing that some dogs will not destroy eventually. However, it’s important to us not to bring in any old cheap toy that’s destined for the garbage the same day you buy it. We’re always searching for the toughest and best made toys—got one you love? Tell us about it!

Locally Made - Buying from local sources means that products will not have to be shipped as far, reducing emissions and fuel consumption.

If there’s not a “green” version of some sort of product we’d like to carry, we at least try and find it locally made. Think of how many trucks, ships, trains, etc it takes to get something here from China. Not only that, but in these tough economic times it’s even more important to support our locally owned businesses. On of our favorite locally made products has got to be our gorgeous ceramic bowls. We’re currently carrying bowls made by four local artists and they’re heavy, dishwasher safe, lead free, and beautiful. They make a nice gift for someone who has a beautiful kitchen but nasty old plastic bowls on the floor.

Read more about buying local: http://www.sectionz.info/ISSUE_3/