Tuff Tagz - Hand-Stamped Pet I.D. Tags $20.00
Check out these fun and funky pet tags. Hand cut from recycled diamond plate aluminum, custom stamped, and brilliantly polished. Tuff Tagz can customize each tag front with a personalized phrase of your choice and your pet’s name and number on the back. They state that the aluminum is lightweight but very durable.
Zanisa’s Spring Flower Dog Cookies $10.00 / 4 oz.
Your dog doesn’t have to be a flower child to want to dance this celebration of spring. The colorful yogurt icing and happy spring flower shapes will be a treat to your eyes as well as your dog’s tummy. Made with whole wheat flour, water, peanut butter, rolled oats, molasses, yogurt, and carob. We can’t claim they are necessarily going to help save the planet but a dog’s gotta have a little fun too.
Easy Being Green is selling “flatulence cards” for your dog and cat that they claim will help offset your pet’s carbon pawprint. 35 Australian dollars (approx. $27.00 U.S.) is the cost for a dog and $6.00 U.S. for a cat. Your pet’s needs cause a certain amount of carbon to be emitted when you break down such things as the making of pet foods, the transportation of pet foods and similar items, the drive to vet appointments, or for people like myself-everywhere I drive the dog goes too,
and of course the methane that gets released into the atmosphere when you are all sitting around watching TV after dinner. Here is a link to a good Guardian article called “Tackling the carbon pawprint” about various effects pets have on the environment.
The flatulence cards are a novel way to both draw attention to this issue and to make efforts to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But one wonders if carbon offsetting isn’t just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic! While its great that EasyBeingGreen is using the money to install energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs and water-saving shower heads in houses in New South Wales, Australia but will this really have anything more than a novelty effect? Still you have to give them credit for cleverness. Here is a link to a National Geographic article about this company.
The Feline Evolution CatSeat $119.00 from Tails by the Lake
Dump the eco-unfriendly litterbox! Instead consider the The Feline Evolution CatSeat. Cat litter is often made with clay or other minerals - many times from environmentally-damaging mining and can be toxic or unhealthy when dumped in the landfill. Cat feces also can carry the toxocara parasite and toxiplasma disease. This new cat seat will also prevent the litter from soiling and smelling up your home. The CatSeat can be used like a normal litter-box on the floor, or it can be mounted to your toilet. The website claims training your cat to use this seat is easy. hmmmm this sounds good but I wonder how often that has been put to the test. But cats can be pretty smart when they put there minds to it, actually here is a link to a video that shows you can train your cat to use a regular toilet so you don’t even have to buy this, you can also train them to flush the toilet (see the video we posted showing a cat repeatedly flushing a toilet here.)
Other alternatives to kitty litter, made of sawmill wastes, straw, biodegradable corn or even hemp, are lighter, fully biodegradable, and can be either flushed away, or preferably composted or buried in soil, providing a permanent solution. Said to be softer on the paws, as well!
Eco Nap L 35×22x3 $59.90 at WestPawDesign.com
Your dog will snooze out in style and comfort with these new earth friendly Eco Nap Pads. They are made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic and WestPaw claims that they will divert 25 tons of plastic from landfills a year (although it isn’t clear if they mean from this product alone or all their eco-friendly product lines) They state these beds are machine washable and have inner stuffing for extra comfort. I would assume these are just for the quick day-time naps and for the full night’s sleep you would want something more substantial for the inner padding. Not clear if the inner stuffing is also made from recycled plastic but it would seem likely. Comes in a variety of sizes and colors.
Solar Dog House $1,299.99
Our dog has no interest being anywhere outside when we aren’t around but many dogs like being outside much of the day. I would imagine there are still some people out there whose dogs actually live outside and don’t sleep with you in your bed.
Those dogs deserve the finest in accommodations in that event. This solar dog house might just be the ticket. I thought at first maybe this dog house actually had solar panels but sadly this wasn’t the case. It just uses solar energy the old fashioned way. Here is a link that explains more about the whole phenomena of solar dog houses.
Check out these artfully created cat furniture from naturaltreefurniture.com
An amazing selection of inventive and playful designs of trees, benchs, hollow logs, scratching posts, etc. Ranges in size from huge cat trees big enough for the select few who keep 30 or more cats to more reasonable 1 cat affairs. Prices range from over 2,000 to less than 100.00. These trees practically make you want to become a cat yourself! Made from sustainably harvested timbers which they treat for 3 days in a wood fired kiln to safely rid all pests and apply a hand waxed non-toxic finish.
Natural Tree Furniture website states “Our steadfast commitment to conservation through recovery, recycling and reuse involves the practice of unique environmental standards and principles.”
Here are a few more selections from the many they offer on their website.
Whiner & Diner Dog Dishes Large and Small Double - various stain colors - $199.99 - Small and Large Single $159.99 - various stains.
Elevated dog dishes promote healthy eating and drinking habits for your dog and gives you the satisfaction of feeding your pooch with panache.
The dishes are custom-made and are available in its natural finish or a selection of stain colors. Apparently, you can order custom staining as well. They apply three coats of polyurethane to a fine furniture finish, comes with removable stainless steel bowls which have skid-proof bottoms. They also offer crates personalized with your pet’s name, hand-painted designs, etc. Check out their slide show of the various types available.
They state their product will be featured in the next issue of Wag Magazine.
Fleece Dog Kit by Sinco from fleecedog.com 2310 Yen or $19.73
Ok, it might be a bit of a stretch to call the “re-use” of dog fur “recycling” and to be classified as green. Perhaps re-purposing would be a better word. While fleece dog-making won’t save the planet, maybe the joy of people seeing your creation will make the world a little bit nicer.
If you enjoy crafting, the Fleece Dog may be worth checking out. It’s is a small stuffed dog made with wool, dog hair or a combination. They suggest you use raw wool but I can’t see why it wouldn’t be possible to take apart an old sweater, sock or similar made of natural undyed wool - so you could officially call it recycling! If you get really good at making these - I can easily imagine a small online business selling these.
There is a book you can buy for $22.95 (Fleece Dog: A Little Bit of Magic Created with Raw Wool and a Special Needle) and the website gives free extensive instructions on how to make it. It seems you really don’t need to buy anything at all if you already have most of the tools and materials for making. However, most people will probably want to get the whole kit that includes all the necessary materials and instructions. With patience, a good eye and good handling there seems no limit to the level of realism possible.
Dog cards $3.50