2010 Animal Trends: Reducing Your Carbon Paw Print

As the year winds down, I'm taking a look at five top trends that I predict will continue to grow in importance and become major influences on animal issues throughout 2010. Here's number 2.

"Reducing Your Carbon Paw Print" was identified as a top trend in 2009 by the American Pet Products Association, and I predict it's up for an encore year in 2010. This is a prediction that's almost too easy to make -- both environmental awareness and pets-as-family-members have been on the rise for awhile now, and neither is showing signs of slowing their climb anytime soon. But what does it mean to reduce your carbon paw print?

It can mean a lot of things, from applying the "reduce, reuse, recycle" concept to spaying and neutering and choosing to adopt, to teaching your dog energy saving tricks. I'm going to focus on the two areas where I think we'll see the biggest changes in 2010: eco-friendly pet supplies and the local animal movement.

Eco-Friendly Pet Supplies

The prevalence of toxic chemicals in pet products was exposed in 2009. Even before that, organic and "natural" treats and toys had been creeping into the mainstream pet product industry. Petco added a Natural Market to its stores to feature organic foods and natural material toys, and Petsmart's website has a Going Green guide to organic living. Manufacturers started to make changes, too. The Kong Company developed a line of "ecologically responsible" toys that are made entirely from natural, renewable resources. This will continue to be a growing segment of the industry. People are making more eco-conscious choices for themselves and will do the same for their entire families, especially now that pet stores have made it easier to do so.

What makes something eco-friendly? The stuff it's made of is a huge factor. Organic foods (even with the inconsistency of what that label means) don't have the pesticide impact on the environment of conventional foods. Products made with toxic chemicals not only potentially expose your family, but also pollute the environment from the point of manufacture until they hit the landfill. Then there's the issue of whether the materials are renewable and recyclable. In addition to what it's made of, the packaging should be factored in, too. Packaging should be minimal -- only what's needed (and I mean from the viewpoint of the product arriving intact and meeting government labeling guidelines ... not from the point of view of the marketing team) -- and meet the same non-toxic/recyclable criteria of the product itself. Last, but definitely not least (though hardest to track), is the company's environmental record. It doesn't do much good to buy natural material products if the material came via environmental destruction, or to buy non-toxic products from a factory that violates its air permit. Companies are increasingly being held responsible, by the public if not the government, for their behavior. People are looking for brands they can trust in the pet store, too, and companies that make pet products are going to start competing for the most eco-friendly image.

One other piece of eco-friendly shopping that's going to change the industry is the "less is more" philosophy. I don't just mean in product packaging. People have less money and they want to spend it on better stuff. So, it's not good enough for something to just be able to use the "organic" or "natural" label, they need to be worth every dime. People are expecting results from organic foods and durability from natural toys. Companies are going to have to live up to those expectations or lose customers, which is not something taken lightly in a $45 billion, and growing, industry.

If you haven't already signed the petition demanding hazardous chemical regulations for pet products, tell the Consumer Product Safety Commission it's time to protect all of our family members!

The Local Animal Movement

Earlier this month, I wrote about the growing popularity of urban chickens and how they should fit into cruelty laws (there are a lot of other issues around urban chickens, which I'll be writing a bit more about soon). Urban chickens are a very immediate way that animals are affected by the local food movement, but there's also the impact that buying local can have in helping small farms stay afloat. Whether you're buying animal products or sticking to produce, the choice to shop at your local farmers market will help make the family farms in your area less vulnerable to developers, which means more operating farms to both set standards for humanely raising animals for food and to provide sanctuary for farm animals that will never end up on the table. The local food movement is becoming more and more popular as people prioritize supporting local economies and reducing their impact on global warming.

In addition to its impact on farm animals, the local movement is helping rebuild a sense of community. Remember 50-60 years ago when dogs would just run loose through neighborhoods during the day and everyone knew which families they belonged to, the dogs were friendly, except for the ones people knew to avoid? Well, we're not quite going back to that era, but as people spend more time in their communities, they will get to know their neighbors and their neighbors' dogs. This means the dogs will get out more and meet more people, helping to create dogs that are better socialized, better exercised, and happier, which all adds up to fewer bite cases. It will also lead to more information sharing on training, behavior, vet tips ... and the latest green products.

Photo credit: Jesse757