The global pet industry produces millions of tons of plastic every year. In fact, in the USA alone, an estimated 300 million pounds of plastic waste is created for pet products annually; from food and treat bags, to packaging for toys, accessories, and more.
One company, rePurpose Global, is attacking the plastic crisis head on through their commitment to reducing the amount of plastic making its way into supply chains all over the world. They’re working with 230 brands across 26 countries, and together they’re able to remove approximately 14 million pounds of plastics from our natural environment every year.
Currently, rePurpose Global employs over 2,400 determined individuals from around the globe, passionately working on impactful initiatives to repurpose plastic waste.
One of rePurpose Global’s partnerships is with an organization called Pet Sustainability Coalition, a nonprofit collaboration involving 25 pet industry business leaders. Their mission is to create a more sustainable pet industry with the help of assessment tools, strategic support, and accreditation.
This coalition includes big pet industry brands like Kong, Petco, Primal Pet Foods, Pets International, and many more. Together, they’ve developed and grown The PSC Toolkit, which provides businesses with the tools they need to reduce, or even eliminate, plastic waste from the supply chain.
The toolkit focuses on six main areas:
Business Care: Exploring the ways that becoming a more sustainable company can positively impact profitability.
Sustainable Strategy: Strategizing to create an action plan that will positively impact your company’s environmental impact.
Employee Engagement: Generating a passion for positive change within your workforce.
Supply Chain: Sourcing suppliers who actively work to minimize their environmental impact.
Communication: Effectively engaging with stakeholders to communicate sustainability goals and accomplishments.
Build Efficiency: Optimizing use of resources to save money and increase profitability.
Businesses outside of the pet industry can use these tools to help reduce the amount of plastic waste entering our environment. Outside of these organizations, individual brands are focusing more heavily on reducing plastic waste in many ways, including switching to cardboard or paper packaging, or packaging that is biodegradable and/or compostable.
For example, Earth Rated dog poop bags offer a line of compostable bags for pet owners wanting to reduce plastics going directly into landfills from their pet’s waste. Additionally, brands like Beco are making sustainable, premium plush pet toys from recycled water bottles. Toronto-based Earthpup has taken things a step further by becoming Canada’s first certified Plastic Negative pet food company as part of their sustainability goals.
Everywhere we look, the world’s highest quality pet brands are taking their manufacturing to the next level through sustainability initiatives that will create a better, healthier world for our pets, as the fight against plastic waste continues to grow stronger.
Brandon Forder, known as The Pet Expert, is vice-president of Canadian Pet Connection, an industry leader in healthy pet lifestyles. Brandon is certified in pet nutrition, and has more than twenty-five years’ experience specializing in pet health and behaviour. He has written hundreds of informative pet-related articles for newspapers, magazines, radio, and the popular Ask the Pet Expert Blog. Brandon is highly skilled in pet problem solving, and enjoys teaching others about smart and responsible pet ownership. To learn more, visit www.CanadianPetConnection.ca.
