How You and Your Pets Can Go Green with Eco Dog Care
In honor of National Change a Pet's Life Day today, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jane Bond, Cofounder of Eco Dog Care, a certified Green America business that offers eco-friendly grooming products to help you care for your pups … and the planet.
And if caring for your pets and the planet isn’t enough, Eco Dog Care also donates its services and products to local rescues. They also support Kind Hearts in Action, a 501c3 charity dedicated to fighting the global battle against canine distemper.
Eco Dog Care products are made of all-natural ingredients without phosphates, parabens or other toxins. This means the products won't harm your pup, your hands or the water supply. Their healthy base ingredients are infused with a unique blend of essential oils and botanicals. Ancient ingredients like neem, myrrh, lavender, cedar, ylang-ylang and bergamot cleanse, soothe, heal and protect your dogs’ skin and fur. The products also have a natural ability to repel fleas and other pests (no more flea medicine on your face, hands or clothes when hugging your pets!).
Check out the interview below, which includes the simple ways you and your pets can go green!
The Ant’s Meow: Why do you think it’s important to shift toward an eco-conscious, natural lifestyle for our pets and ourselves?
Jane: I believe that the quality of our life is centered on relationships: those we have (or don't have) with family, coworkers, neighbors, communities and, of course, our pets. At a macro level, our relationship with nature is also critical. We literally have only one place to live, and we make choices every day about how to sustain that relationship so that it is healthy for us and all the other living beings that depend on it.
The Ant’s Meow: Aside from using Eco Dog Care products, what are other earth friendly ways to care for our pets?
Jane: Some of the choices we make in our lives and business operations: phosphate-free laundry detergent, toxin-free surface cleaners, non-GMO ingredients in food and care products, poop bags that break down in landfills, reusable shammy cloths to reduce paper waste, and pet beds made from recycled materials. We're constantly looking for the earth-friendliest products we can find (and afford) and the good news is that there are a lot more available than ever before. It takes a tiny bit of time to read the labels, but we truly believe that every little bit matters.
The Ant’s Meow: What are some common things pet parents do that negatively impact the environment, and what can they do instead?
Jane: Some folks still don't pick up after their dogs thinking that it's just "natural" material and will wash away. It doesn't disappear; it gets into waterways and groundwater. Pick it up with the best-available poop bags or newspaper and discard it. I'm also really concerned about the heavily advertised and rising of so-called flushable cleaning wipes for people and pets. They are a blight because they contribute to what are called "fatbergs" that overload/compromise sewer systems. We know people like the convenience of wipes. We're researching options for our own products (and use) but aren't there yet.
The Ant’s Meow: Are there any other ways of going green with pets that might surprise people?
Jane: We have found that classical music and the use of aromatherapy are both "green" ways of calming pets in stressful situations and can eliminate the need for the use of Rx and OTC meds. (Besides always playing soft classical music, we use a blend of essential oils including lavender and eucalyptus in our busy cage-free doggy daycare. So we know this from real-life experience.)
The Ant’s Meow: What are some of the biggest improvements people have seen with their dogs since using Eco Dog Care?
Jane: They tell us that the health of their dog's skin and coat has improved: less itchiness, more shine and softness, and most often ... their pups are even more huggable because they smell so good.
Treat Your Pets to Eco Dog Care
In honor of this special day, treat your furry friends to Eco Dog Care’s Start Green Kit, which includes 4-oz. bottles of Simply Clean and Simply Fresh—their popular signature shampoo and between-baths spray. You’ll soon see why Eco Dog Care has become popular among dog-lovers.
And if your pups suffer from environmental allergens, you’ll be happy to know that Eco Dog Care will soon launch a new shampoo called Soothe. Other products in the pipeline are a new fragrance featuring a burst of citrus freshness from Israeli orange oil, as well as a new ear cleanser.
Unfortunately, they don’t have a product line for our feline friends just yet. Jane, who also loves cats and has 7 rescues of her own, says that she needs to do more research on the use of essential oils on cats due to their sensitive livers.
For more information and to purchase Eco Dog Care products, click here.
About Eco Dog Care and the Founders
As eco-conscious animal lovers, Jane and her sister, Karen, got their idea for Eco Dog Care back in 2010, when they were researching grooming products to use in their services business, Eco Dog Care Los Angeles. Although they found a lot of good eco-friendly products, they couldn’t find any that were also “eco-smart”. It was then that they decided to fill the market void by creating products that are both eco-friendly and eco-smart—tapping into the power of nature to deliver specific benefits for pets.
What Jane and Karen have found most rewarding since launching Eco Dog Care is the feedback they’ve received from customers about how much they’re appreciated in the community, and how in sync they are with their values. Beyond that is the happiness and satisfaction of being able to help dogs and cats find their forever homes, as they actively support local rescues and organizations like Kind Hearts in Action.