Pet owners tend to be more conscious about the Earth. We are people who care for animals and most likely your pet dog is the bridge between the wild and your living room. Dogs remind us that we’re all in this together. We all can play a part in reducing our carbon footprint on the world! Caring for the environment goes hand-in-hand with caring for a dog as more products like Eco Friendly dog shampoo become widely available.
This has not always been the case. Traditional pet products have typically been toys made from synthetic materials, dog food and treats are comprised of byproducts or fillers, and shampoos made with chemicals that seep into the environment. Not until recently have pet parents had more conscious options. What’s even worse, is that many of these products are inferior to sustainable products. A dog toy made cheaply will break quickly and need to be thrown away and replaced. Food with fillers contain no nutritional value. These foods will get eaten faster without filling your dog up with protein,vitamins, and minerals.
Rather than wasting money on products that hurt the environment and don’t last, why not get your dog green products?
Why Eco Friendly Dog Shampoo Can Be Better
Dogs have a stronger sense of smell than humans. Dogs have about 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses versus the six million in humans. This means their sniffers are 4,900% stronger than ours! Shampoos with artificial fragrances and chemicals can leave your dog with a monster headache.
Dog’s skin can is also hypersensitive. Skin is their largest organ and it takes delicate balance to stay healthy. Many traditional dog shampoos are packed full of chemicals that disrupt your dog’s natural pH balance. A dog’s skin can become overly dry or irritated when this happens. Eco Friendly dog shampoo offers a healthier alternative.
If the harshness of these chemicals are dangerous for your dog, they’re also dangerous for the Earth. The manufacturing process is tricky. Even seemingly benign ingredients can contain harmful byproducts. It is more expensive for dog shampoo manufacturers to synthesize formulations themselves. So instead of buying coconut oil and synthesizing it down to develop sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), they purchase the chemical and mix it with other chemicals for the final product. If SLS wasn’t purged of contaminants it can be dangerous for your dog and the environment. If the manufacturers used ethical processes, then SLS can easily biodegrade into nontoxic components.
Read labels carefully and speak with your Veterinarian or dog groomer about what shampoos to use.
Avoid these Ingredients:
- Artificial Fragrance
- Phthalates
- Formaldehyde Preservatives
- Isothiazolinone Preservatives
- Paraben Preservatives
- Cocamide-MEA
- SD Alcohol 40
- Polyethylene Glycol(PEG)
Most Eco Friendly dog shampoos steer clear of these toxic and sometimes even carcinogenic ingredients. Your dog can still have that vibrant and shiny coat that works in harmony with their own natural oils with Eco friendly shampoo. Ingredients like Vitamin E, aloe vera, and rosemary extract make for a more soothing bath experience for your dog. You won’t have to worry when your dog licks their skin after a bath now!
These ingredients are also more gentle on the environment. The ingredients of Eco Friendly dog shampoos should be biodegradable—break down naturally after bath time. Once shampoo is rinsed away, it flows down the drain and into wastewater systems. Biodegradable ingredients are eliminated naturally in the water cycle, while pollutants add to carbon emissions in acid rain. Natural ingredients biodegrade without polluting.
But pet owners should still be wary. As environmentalism popularizes a movement called Greenwashing is happening. Greenwashing is when products are marketed as ‘natural’ even when they contain contaminated source ingredients. Take the time to read the label and watch out for words you cannot pronounce.
Green Products
Plastic has a questionable half-life. Depending on the source, it could take up to 1,000 years for plastic to break down in the environment. The scientific community is split. Plastic bags have only been around for around 50 years so no one is quite sure how long it will take those things to decompose in a landfill. Some say as little as 450 years others theorize 800. The longest theory is an entire millennium for plastic to decompose and some believe it never will.
One thing is certain, it will take organic cotton much less time to decompose than plastic. Let’s keep our landfills manageable!
Manufactured materials like plastic, rubber, and synthetic cloth also contain harmful ingredients. Chemicals like Bisphenol-A, phthalates, lead, and other heavy metal contaminants are all found in dog chew toys. How do dog toy makers get away with this? Many fetch toys, tennis balls, and plush toys aren’t sold as chew toys, but let’s face it, our dogs are going to chew on them. What is scary is that these chemicals are in our dogs’ mouth. Even if they don’t ingest a piece of the plastic, the harmful contaminants are still secreting into your dog’s body.
Many pet owners prefer plastic chew toys. They are sometimes less malodorous than the natural counterpart. Natural chews like rawhide, bully sticks, bones, and antlers will be gnawed away until gone, but a little smell is better than intestinal blockage from contamination of rubber and plastic toys.
Recycled Products
Cycle Dog is an Earth friendly pet company that hand sews their products in the U.S. The company makes dog collars from recycled bike tubes that would otherwise be crowding up landfills. The collars are bacteria resistant and are less smelly than traditional collars. The company has evolved their Eco Friendly product line into beds, toys, travel bowls, and other pet accessories.
Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique are proud to offer Cycle Dog products in our stores and hope it’s one step closer to a cleaner planet!
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