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.

Organic Standards and the USDA

We are longtime buyers of organic products for personal use. Our food is mostly organic and mostly locally-produced (thanks to our locally-owner natural foods market). We are lucky to live in Portland, Oregon, a city that values sustainability and locally-owned business. From April to December, we can bike to the Portland Farmer's Market to shop a dizzying array of natural and organic produce and products.

Our dog, Nixon, is the occasional recipient of carrot tops, celery bottoms and other vegetable scraps that we create while cooking. Before we opened Urban Leash & Treat, we searched far and wide to find affordable organic products for our dog. In fact, the business was born out of the idea that we could share with others the healthy, organic, sustainable and human-grade products we found while searching for only the best for our Nixon. This is our mandate - to help others select high-quality, safe, delicious, durable and sustainable products for dogs and cats.

Here at Urban Leash & Treat, we provide many kinds of organic products. Here's a sampling of our organic pet treats, pet toys made with organic fibers, organic catnip and beds made from organic fibers:

Fish for Catnip Cat Toy $7.99	Organic Cotton Cat Collar $5.99
Monzi's Organic Cookies for Dogs $7.99	Organic Pumpkin Dog Treats $6.49

The Great Pet Food Recall of '07 reinforced to us the importance of selecting natural pet products. Our dog Nixon eats a locally-produced natural diet that was not affected by the recall, but nonetheless, we were deeply saddened to know that companion animals were sickened and killed by chemical-laced food products. The recall prompted us to ask pointed questions to the manufacturers of our products. How to sort out truly organic foods and products from unverified, unaudited counterparts?

The US Department of Agriculture has approved three labels for use in organic packaged foods. Many organic pet products use these labels. The labels are:

• 100% Organic: Product must contain 100% organically-produced ingredients.
• Organic: At least 95% organic ingredients. The rest must come from the USDA's 38 approved non-organic ingredients list.
• Made with Organic Ingredients: At least 70% organic ingredients, the other 30% must come from the USDA approved non-organic list.

Use of the USDA Organic seal is voluntary, but a good indicator of the presence of organic ingredients in packaged foods. When in doubt, always check the product label. Look for the name of the organization certifying the organic content of the product. We encourage you to visit the certifying organization on the web to verify its reputation!

Sources:

• US Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program and their consumer brochure.
• Greener Choices at Consumer Reports
• How to Go Organic
• Environmental Working Group
• Oregon Tilth