At Healthy Spot, we've worked diligently on bringing in pet food brands we know and trust. Giving your pet the best should not come at a cost to the environment. In honor of Earth Month, we've compiled a list of products you can find online or at your local Spot to help you minimize your carbon footprint while shopping for your pet.
The Honest Kitchen is dedicated to using conscientious principles in their sourcing, production methods, and in working with suppliers they trust and upholding rigid standards of quality control and safety. Currently, 63% of their packaging is made from renewable materials and is fully recyclable after use. Their dehydrated food boxes are made from 18% post-consumer paperboard, shipping cartons are made of more than 40% recycled material and 100% of the virgin paperboard used is from sustainable forestry initiative-compliant sources. They've also become a Certified B Corporation, proving they meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
The parent company of K9 Natural and Feline Natural, Natural Pet Good Group, is committed to the implementation of sustainable business practices that drive positive impact for their community and the environment. Currently, they work with partners toward being the most responsible company they can be. These partnerships include:
• Pet Sustainability Coalition - A non-profit organization of pet companies dedicated to creating a more sustainable pet industry. (Plus, they're the first New Zealand member and the first New Zealand-accredited company to join PSC!)
• Sustainable Business Network - A network of hundreds of organizations and individuals working together to improve practices that impact climate, waste and nature.
• Soft Plastic Recycling - A program dedicated to helping New Zealanders find packaging solutions, particularly for soft plastics and informing them how to keep plastic bags and packaging out of landfills.
• REDcycle - A program that takes soft plastic bags and utilizes it to produce a range of hundreds of recycled plastic products such as fence posts, bench seats and many other products.
The founders of Open Farm realized that there was a gap in the market for pet food that prioritized ethical sourcing. Thus, in 2014, Open Farm launched with a mission that pet food should be good for pets, farm animals and our planet. At the core, sustainability is centric to all of Open Farm's practices as they continue their commitment to setting the standard for pet food and caring for the planet. Open Farm takes its commitment to sustainability and ethical business practices even further by partnering with TerraCycle, an innovative social enterprise focused on recycling the unrecyclable to divert empty food bags from landfills and close the loop on pet food waste at zero cost to its customers.
You can participate in this great initiative by recycling your empty Open Farm food bags by signing up here!
P.L.A.Y. Pet Lifestyle is serious about its efforts to help the environment and minimize its impact. By wanting to make our planet better, their Headquarters runs on 100% renewable energy. They are a Green America Gold Certified Business as well as a Certified B Corp. Both certifications have rigorous social and environmental standards for performance, accountability and transparency. All of their stuffed products are made with their signature PlanetFill® poly-fiber blend, made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Fun fact, P.L.A.Y. has saved over 14 million bottles from entering our landfills and oceans! Even their product tags are printed on sustainably sourced paper!
As of 2022, Primal Pet Foods signed the Pet Sustainability Coalition’s Packaging Pledge, a program that helps companies meet voluntary and public commitments to improve the sustainability of their packaging. By signing this pledge, they can work with the PSC and receive a variety of tools to help develop sustainable plans for the future. Currently, their newest products utilize recyclable packaging, including their popular Freeze-Dried Raw Toppers, Treats and Freeze-Dried Raw Pronto. Their pet milk is also sold in recyclable packaging, and they are actively searching for ways to make Primal's future more sustainable in the years to come.
Project Hive Pet Company includes sustainability efforts in its reason for being: their mission to save the bees. Bees are essential to our food supply and a sustainable future for pets, people and the planet. They consider sustainability in every business decision, both at the brand level and at the product level. As a brand, they were founded as a Public Benefit company, meaning the company is legally committed to going beyond the singular goal of profit maximization. And as of late 2022, Project Hive is B Corp Certified, meaning they are part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact that require transparency and authenticity.
For Ruffwear, success includes adopting responsibility methods that positively impact the community and planet. Their company is run on 100% renewable sources and they have successfully reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 69% from 2019 going into 2021. In 2022, they began their efforts to eliminate the use of all PFAS and will be completely eliminated by 2024. They’ve also joined the Outdoor Industry Association’s Climate Action Corps as a founding member to bring brands within the outdoor industry together to work towards a common goal: becoming the world’s first climate-positive industry by 2030.
Smallbatch believes our pets deserve to eat real food, which is why they procure all of their ingredients from local known and trusted farms. By partnering with local ranchers and farmers that maintain transparent food policies, they are committed to providing leadership in sustainability and land stewardship. How the ingredients in their pet food are raised, grown and harvested plays a pivotal role in not just the health of our pets, but also in the health of our planet. Smallbatch is consistent in its dedication to offering quality food that aligns with these values.
Stella & Chewy's prioritizes sustainability practices by partnering with the Pet Sustainability Coalition to encourage the entire industry to implement more sustainable business practices and do right by our planet. The Pet Sustainability Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a more sustainable pet industry by helping organizations implement sustainability in their business with assessment tools, strategic support and educational events. To take their commitment to the environment further, Stella & Chewy’s is going green by transitioning to recyclable packaging!
ZIWI’s main mission is to “provide peace of mind to pet guardians around the world.” For ZIWI, ethical and sustainable practices aren't just a standard, but a way of life. They have committed to sustainability by using ethical and sustainable ingredients and partnering with suppliers and farmers that use free-range practices. To take the next step towards a more sustainable future for the pet food industry, ZIWI ended 2022 by joining the Pet Sustainability Coalition as a Guardian-level member. They are committed to accelerating their sustainability journey with help from the PSC by providing performance assessments and recommendations to help them navigate and visualize the progress they’ve made and the future of their sustainability practices.
Putting forth the effort to make the world a more sustainable and eco-friendly place begins with each individual's efforts. The more attempts you make in your practices, the more you are giving back to the earth- each conscious effort makes for a greener tomorrow! Considering the brands mentioned above is a great place to begin your journey without jeopardizing the quality of your pet’s food and their overall health.
Ready to begin your sustainability journey during Earth Month? Explore our Earth Month Collection for even more eco-friendly pet brands that practice sustainability year-round - because every day should be Earth Day!
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