Living a green lifestyle includes every aspect of your life: your food, your activities, your personal belongings, just about everything you own, especially your pets. You have seen the benefits of going green with your lifestyle. Your pets can also enjoy multiple benefits if you become an eco-friendly pet guardian.

Why go green with pet care?

The only realistic answer to this question is because IT’S WORTH IT. Here are some reasons:

• Making the green shift in your pet’s lifestyle means eliminating the carbon footprint your pets leave on Planet Earth. Pets are supposedly a bigger polluter than sports cars, so imagine your contribution if you go green with loving pets.
• An ecological life not only means a healthy life but also a safe life. By giving your pet’s lifestyle an eco-friendly makeover, you reduce, if not eliminate, the danger of poisoning your pet with synthetically produced products.
• So being a green pet parent or guardian is investing in your pet’s life. Going green with pet care helps prevent premature deaths for your pets. This means more years of companionship and friendship with your pets.
• Best of all, you can save money. Living a healthy life means fewer trips to the doctor or vet, and living a safe life means keeping your annual contingency budget intact.

Steps to become a green pet parent

Just like caring for a child, becoming a green pet parent is not an overnight task. It’s a lifelong process (based on the lifespan of the pet, at least) and ongoing. But you can get started with these simple and easy to do steps.

• If you’re still thinking of adopting a pet, look for one at animal shelters. These animals are sold at a minimum price or even for free. Plus, you save the life of an animal that’s probably on the shelter’s “mercy kill” list.
• The fact that the number of animals enrolled in animal shelters just shows that the pet population has increased at an unmanageable rate. Spay or neuter your pets before your family tree gets too big for you to care for. Spaying or neutering also provides health benefits to your pets by lowering the chances of developing cancer and prostate disease among them.
• Go natural with your food. Look at the labels of the pet food products you buy at pet stores and choose those made with natural ingredients. Better yet, prepare your food yourself. This way you can be sure that only the best quality ingredients are included in your food.
• Replace commercial pet care and grooming products with green products. Commercial flea and tick treatment products contain harmful active ingredients that are harmful not only to your pets but also to your children. Avoid using pet beds and bedding made from polyester, which is a petroleum derivative, especially when your pet likes to chew on or ingest their beds. Use natural cotton or hemp for all pet bedding.
• Go organic with your homes. Start by swapping your household cleaning chemicals for green products. Then swap your artificial air fresheners and odor naturalizers for pure essential oils made from botanical plants. And lastly, go green with your garden by eliminating all artificial fertilizers and insecticides and using non-chemical or organic fertilizers instead. More than anyone else, your beloved pet will be the one to benefit from your eco-friendly lifestyle.
• Let your pets play green. Pet toys and accessories can be loaded with toxic chemicals like arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead embedded in the material the toy is made of or in the paints on the toy. Fortunately for green pet lovers and guardians or parents, the pet market is increasingly aware of the need to go green with pet care. Many eco-friendly toys, pet collars and more are now available in the market. Or, you can recycle old items around the house and turn them into toys for your pets. Just make sure these items are not harmful to them. If you are not sure, think that you are doing it for your children.

Just reading this far is already a starting point on your journey to becoming a green pet keeper or owner and I can feel you thinking that the next time you shop, you’ll be bringing home grocery bags full of green products. for you and your pets. Congratulations!