20 Tips for Earth Day
April 17, 2013 • Health & Wellness
Earth Day is just 5 days away (April 22, 2013), and we’re reminded to spend a little more time thinking about the planet as we make choices in caring for our home, FIDOs and human family. With that, we were thrilled to receive 20 tips for living greener from our friend Lucy, owner of the Honest Kitchen, a family-owned company that makes healthy, dehydrated, human-grade pet foods.
Here are a few of her tips, and how you can read them all, on her blog!
TIP 1 - Always try to select products (including food, toys and treats) that are sold in compostable or recyclable packaging. Besides the actual energy and materials that go into making a finished product, the packaging it’s sold in can have a dramatic impact on the environment. Many food products are sold in barrier bags with foil linings or multiple individual plastic layers that mean they cannot be recycled at all, so they end up in the landfill. Paper bags don’t protect food very well from moisture and outside contaminants, but a single wall plastic bag that’s recyclable, plus compostable or recyclable box can help to make sure the contents are kept safe and dry, while significantly reducing the impact on the planet. –
TIP 2 - Wondering if you should choose paper or plastic in the store? Why not bring your own bag? Here at The Honest Kitchen, we like to use our Organic cotton tote bag during trips to the market. If you’re in a pinch and left your bag at home, always opt for paper bags because they are made from a renewable resource (unlike plastic bags), and many paper companies are part of organizations that ensure responsible stewardship of forests, planting new young trees as mature ones are harvested
TIP 3 - Many dogs spend a great deal of time in their beds, and for them, just as for people the material that bedding is made from is extremely important. Natural fibers, organic materials and unbleached fabric are much less environmentally harmful than man-made materials, which are often laden with toxic chemicals. From a materials usage standpoint, consider some of the newer approaches to dog beds, which provide an empty ‘sack’ that you can stuff with some of your own old unwanted clothes.
Read the rest of Lucy’s 20 tips on her blog!
Lucy gained her expertise on this subject over the last decade developing her Earth-friendly pet food brand, The Honest Kitchen. As a company, they choose their principals over profits, opting for organic ingredients whenever they can. Their products include free-range chicken, line caught wild haddock, fair-trade quinoa, non-GMO produce and are packaged using recycled, Sustainable Forestry Initiative certified, compostable materials.
