Greenwashing in Pet Products (and What You Can Do About It)

Greenwashing. A shady and unethical business practice that is increasingly popular in the pet products industry. Consumers, know thy enemy. Learn how to spot greenwashing.

I define greenwashing as misleading consumers about a product by making unverifiable, questionable or downright false claims of sustainability.

Savvy consumers choose natural pet products. We are willing to pay a little more for natural, sustainable and organic pet products that are sourced close to home. To appeal to smart customers like you - who safeguard pet health with natural products - profit-minded manufacturers can and do greenwash their products with unverifiable or false claims. Unethical manufacturers greenwash to turn your attention away from planet-friendly practices and back to their tired, wasteful products.

Here are three recent greenwashing examples we have witnessed in the pet products industry:

• An unscrupulous or ignorant pet treat vendor lists "organic anchovies" as a product ingredient. Wild and farmed seafood both cannot yet be certified organic. The seafood industry has drafted a proposal (PDF), received with skepticism by the USDA National Organic Standards Board. When pressed, the pet treat vendor admitted that s/he had no idea how or why the anchovies were organic or even from where they were sourced.
• Claims of organic pet shampoo, lotion or spray are greenwashing. Because water cannot be certified organic, water-based pet products cannot be considered organic. However, water-based pet products can still contain certified organic herbal essences, oils, and similar products.
• Claims of "organic bamboo fabric" in pet collars and leashes are frequently but not always greenwashing. Bamboo can be grown sustainably, even gaining USDA organic certification for the raw, harvested bamboo. However, farms frequently clearcut for maximum yield. There is no Forest Stewardship Council or similar certification for bamboo growth practices. The manufacturing process that turns bamboo from woody harvested material into a soft fabric requires the application of toxic chemicals. This manufacturing process is often patented and shielded as a trade secret. Of all the bamboo growers in the world, only a very few are USDA certified organic. Even then, the certification applies to growing practices only, not to post-harvest processing of the bamboo into fabric. Here is an example of USDA organic certification for raw, harvested bamboo - but not the final finished bamboo fabric product.

To stay savvy, customers must verify the sustainability credentials of natural pet products. By sustainability credentials, I mean any claim of organic or free-range ingredients, sustainable manufacturing practices and free-trade components.

Here at Urban Leash & Treat, we are committed to verifying sustainability claims for all our products. We have already begun to review the claims in our product catalog. We expect to complete the review by the end of 2008. We will surface sustainability claims and their degree of verifiability on product pages. Where we suspect greenwashing, we will drop that product from our inventory.

For savvy consumers, the best defense is a good offense. When you shop for natural pet products, consider sustainability claims with skepticism. Can the sustainability claim be independently verified using information from the product label? If not, consider how much you trust the manufacturer's claims. For organic certification, is the certifying authority listed on product packaging? If not, contact the manufacturer and ask for details about the sustainability claim.

SourceWatch and Greenwashing Index have other rules of thumb to detect greenwashing.