Synthetic materials in your pet’s bed can give them the same unhealthy toxins you find in your own materials. The usual red cedar lining often causes respiratory or allergic reactions, especially in smaller sizes of cats and dogs. Maybe your kids have allergies so you are trying to watch what kinds of allergens you bring into your home. Or maybe you just want to reduce the carbon footprint your pets are leaving. What’s an eco-conscious pet owner to do?
You can try a pet bed with organic cotton or hemp outside, and either organically-grown buckwheat hulls inside or those made from recycled pop bottles!
Eco-Lassie did some research on organic beds and found that most of the sites which feature organic mattresses, linens and bedding all carried lines of pet beds that follow the same construction. For those of you with allergies, Lifekind (www.lifekind.com) offers low VOC-emission standards on their products and is certified by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.
An eco site that carries a multitude of lines is Pristine Planet (www.pristineplanet.com). Some of their lines carry beds from recycled and reclaimed materials, while others are made from organic products. Some of their lines are: Urban Leash & Treat, Bean Products, Global Dog Natural Pet Products.
Another multi-site is Kushtush Organics Eco Sleep Shop (kushtush.com), which carries everything organic from bedding to baby bumpers, household supplies and fabrics.
If you prefer not to multi-task but want to shoot straight to just organic pet beds, check out Dog-spoiling-made-easy (www.dog-spoiling-made-easy.com). They have beds made from hemp, from organic cotto, with stuffings of buckwheat hulls and SmartFill, 100% recycled fiber. Their Eco Nap bed contains 100% recycled plastic that would otherwise remain in landfills for a very long time. I use this type for Murray and Radar, from a company called Paus I found on eBay, as their prices were a lot friendlier than others I’d seen.
Other good sites to check out include: greatgreenpet.com; belladogga.com; and puplife.com.
One caveat: As with everything organic, you will pay a premium, and some of these lines can get quite pricey depending on the size of your pet. Radar happens to be over a hundred pounds of Italian Spinone, so I’m always looking for extra-large sizes for him. Once you’ve done your research and settled on the type and size of bed you prefer for your pet, surf eBay as I did to see if you can get the same product at a savings.
Whatever you decide, here’s to bringing a bit of eco-friendliness to your pets!
Thanks to Google Images~
This is a great post and something all pet owners should be aware. I was wondering too if there is such a thing as biodegradable doggie bags (for the you know what)? I reuse my friend’s plastic wrap from her newspaper delivery but is there a better way I wonder?
Yes, it makes sense to put biodegradable poop into something that also degrades.
Try PoopBags.com: for less than $5 a month you can have biodegradable bags, and they ship for free, too!
I will! Thank you Eco Lassie! And I will tell my friends!
very cool! this makes sense.
Great info! My brother is getting a dog tomorrow and he’s bought him a eco-friendly bed
Nice blog – glad to have found it. Love the pics too!
Thanks for mentioning our website – we feature many safe products for “spoiled” dogs in addition to organic pet beds. They deserve the best!