Recycled plastic dog collar – What does Maisie think?

We got a very special email this week from Maisie the Miniature Schnauzer. Her Mummy recently bought her a Eco Dog Collar and Lead. It’s made by Lupine from post consumer plastic bottles! This recycled plastic dog collar and lead even comes with a lifetime guarantee!

Here is what Maisie had to say about it:

“My mummy got me a lovely new recycled plastic dog collar & lead from your fab website. I love the bright yellow colour – it looks great with my black coat!”

Lupine eco collar and lead

“I think there was some confusion about the way to add the lead to the basket, but I heard Mummy say she chatted to you about that on the phone and you were super helpful which was very nice of you.”

Lupine eco collar and lead

“Mummy also got me a eco pink Beco Hoop to play with, which is lots of fun! And a pink Beco Bowl for my water which I also like very much.”

“Mummy is very happy that these are all ethical products because they are good for the planet, whatever that means. I don’t really know much about that, but I do know I like my new things and I’m sending you a big wet lick to say thank you 🐶👅 “

Lots of love from Maisie, the Miniature Schnauzer

Lupine eco collar and lead

Well Maisie! We are very glad you like your new recycled plastic dog collar so much! If other doggies are jealous, they can subtly hint to their dog mummies and daddies that the Lupine Eco collar and leads are available here!

Lupine Eco Dog Collars are also Fairly Traded

Lupine recycled plastic dog collars and leads are not just eco friendly, they are also fairly traded! They are made in a small family run company in their factory New Hampshire, USA.

The collars are hand made in a safe working environment where the labour law is similar to the UK, including health and safety and the right to unionise.

The buckles are made by YKK who are engaged with national and international schemes to ensure worker safety in their global supply chain.

Northern Vegan Festival Twitter Competition Winners!

Following the Northern Vegan Festival, those who took their pets an ethical present home from our stall got the chance to enter our photo competition on Twitter. Here are our wonderful winners!

Continue reading “Northern Vegan Festival Twitter Competition Winners!”

Polythene Pam Loves BecoBowls!

It’s not that we are attention seekers… but we do love it when people talk about us! Here is a fab little article about us published recently by the Plastic Is Rubbish team Polythene Pam and Village Boy. They just LOVE our super-sustainable plastic free pet bowls from BecoThings… did you hear they are made from rice husks and bamboo? Now that’s the kind of gossip we like to see spreading! Take a read of what they said below:

Continue reading “Polythene Pam Loves BecoBowls!”

Ethical Pet of the Month – September 2013

Pip and Arty

Ethical Pets of the Month, September 2013

This month we have super-cute caring duo Pip and Arty as our Ethical Pets of the Month! Here are a few words from Darren, Pip and Arty’s dog-walking daddy:

We re-homed Pip & Arty three years ago this month. Their previous owners could no longer take care of them because their relationship was breaking down & they felt they were being neglected. We came across an advert explaining their situation & instantly fell in love with them.

Continue reading “Ethical Pet of the Month – September 2013”

Ethical Buisness: Ethical Life. Vol 3.

Welcome tEBEL logoo Ethical Business: Ethical Life – we aim to showcase the people behind the amazing Ethical Businesses we meet through running Ethical Pets.This third edition is about Tanya Vaughan, an interior designer from Lincolnshire. We met Tanya only a few weeks ago, when she bought one of our Eco Donut beds for her dog Wrighty – we got to chatting and well… as you can see, she is pretty inspiring!

When did you start your ethical business, what are your ethical principles and how do they guide and motivate you?

I hadn’t set out specifically to start an ethical business, or indeed a business at all! I had been decorating and designing houses for years without stopping to think about it, from digging my own drainage trenches (never again…) to shipping a huge pair of doors back from Morocco, to mount on a wall. It took a long time to twig that I should transform this passion into a business.

picture of design plans
Tracing paper plans – recyclable!

The idea was easy enough, having run my own market research business for a number of years, and the only challenge was my confidence – essentially putting myself on the line. What if no-one likes my ideas? The answer to that, in my business, is very easy – they just won’t hire you. The ones who do like it, will. A nerve-wracking realization.

For me, running my business ethically has just been a natural integration of what I do at home, and taking that into the workplace. From printing as little as possible, to choosing FSC certified paper for my letterhead or paying a little bit extra for green energy, the way I do everyday tasks translate very well from home to business. My studio is a couple of minutes walk from home, and I live in Stamford, which is a bustling and cosmopolitan market town with a wealth of independent shops, and small businesses to serve me, all within walking distance.

In re-designing a house, a room,  considering knocking an existing building down and starting again, you begin to take notice of how much can get discarded, whether it’s an old chair, a cheap sofa that was bought as a stop-gap, or the bricks & mortar of a 1950s bungalow making way for a sleek and contemporary family home. You certainly notice new things. Some of them are utterly gorgeous. Clients want them.  So in an arena where the acquisition of things seemingly plays such key role, I ask myself all the time, how can I make this sustainable?

So, how do you make designs sustainable?

Fundamentally, I support good design. Good design means a lot of things. What it doesn’t mean to me is spending money for it’s own sake, to brag, show-off, or provide fleeting excitement and interest only to be discarded when the next thing comes along. There are products designed specifically to attract these people. I am not interested, and I won’t recommend them to clients. I am also unlikely to be dealing with that kind of client! I am constantly on the lookout for vintage and antique pieces, re-using what already exists in the world, sometimes with an update, sometimes used in a different way to which it was intended. When looking at anything new, I am interested in products that are designed with a lot of thought, that are made by people who are paid a fair wage for what they do.  I look for products that are designed with longevity in mind, so that they will be kept for a very long time – even if that means being sold or given to someone else. Because if they are not, they only end up in one place – landfill.

The most important thing about the fabric of any building is how it stores and uses energy. So regardless of whether it’s made of timber, concrete, steel, or glass, how that structure retains heat, or keeps out heat, is key. This is one of the most sustainable aspects of building, and taken in it’s wider sense, can mean things like putting in large glass panels with specifications that far exceed the regulations, which not only keep the heat in, but positioned correctly, can let more sunlight in in the winter to help heat the room inside. Making it nice and toasty inside is one thing, given the right design and materials, a sustainable building is one that is going to serve it’s purpose for a very long time to come, contributing positively to the lives of the people who use it.

Describe an average day in the life of you.

I generally get up any time from 6, as I have so much to do. It’s a luxury to sit with a cup of tea in PJs answering emails or checking information on-line and watching the sun come up, particularly if I am staying in Norfolk to oversee the project that is taking up most of my time at the moment, where a blue jay and a woodpecker shout loudly on the trees outside the kitchen window.

photo of Wrighty the dog
Wrighty. Now 14, he is a bit deaf and grey round the chops…

I can be working on plans, whether its working out wall thicknesses for bespoke door frames, or drawing elevations, or I can be chasing sub-contractors, checking quotes, placing orders, or sourcing lighting or furniture. Site visits involve warm clothes, a tape measure and a sense of humor – there is always something to throw a spanner in the works! If something really hasn’t gone to plan, then a blast on the beach with the mutt usually de-stresses me and I can come back with a clear head to think through a creative solution. Having a project in such lovely countryside is a fundamental part of how I want the business to continue – being able to stay here for several days a week to project manage is such a treat. When the sun hits the sand dunes and the salt marsh, with the grasses rustling and the colors all greys and greens, I have no desire to jet away to remote shores.

wedding photo
On Tanya’s Wedding… “We used local suppliers for almost everything, even the deck chairs that people sat on during the ceremony.”

I regularly get out and about searching for stuff – fabric, furniture, light fittings, and often find myself at antiques fairs, or dealers’ showrooms to view something in particular that might work for a specific room. I always love getting something old into a scheme, and love being part of the decorative industry that finds value in these beautifully crafted objects with all of their history and patina of age. Sometimes this means working with a designer-maker directly, for example here in Norfolk I have found wonderful craftspeople making wall hangings, a pottery that makes ceramic pendant lights, even the builders, who might not have built a wall with that finish before, but working together we make it happen and we haven’t had to either compromise on the design, or ship in some expensive and unnecessary expertise or product from elsewhere – my first stop is always local craftsmen and tradespeople.

Any words of wisdom?

Put your flag in the ground, stand tall and be passionate about your business. In the words of Aung San Suu Kyi “If you have chosen a certain path ..walk it with satisfaction and with determination and try not to make it appear as a tremendous sacrifice…Whatever you do out of your own free will, that should be a gift that you give to life or to those whom you love”

All links below were broken so have been removed

Tanya’s website is having a little makeover at the moment, but check out her Facebook and Twitter to see more of her amazing designs and wonderful, ethical, life. Here is what Tanya had to say about Ethical Pets:

“I just wanted to say how impressed I am by your ethical policy statement. Most ethical policies I have read seem a bit vague.. yours is so comprehensive regarding all aspects of your business and personal lives. I will be forwarding your website address to many friends I know who will be really interested!”

Ethical Buisness: Ethical Life. Vol 2.

Welcome to Ethical Business: Ethical Life – we aimEBEL logo to showcase the people behind the amazing Ethical Businesses we meet through running Ethical Pets.This second edition is about our friends at Riverflow Clothing: they live on a beautiful red boat and sell fair trade clothes at affordable prices – it’s hard not to like them! Riverflow are a family of four and a half: there is Miriam, Matt and then Caleb and Flynn (5 ½ year old twins) and a bump on the way, due in April! They also live with their dog called Ella, who they rescued from from Birmingham Dogs Home. Ella was a “death row dog” – due to be put down the very next day. Thank goodness for Riverflow eh?!

Why did you set up Riverflow Clothing?

We’ve both worked jobs before that have either involved lining someone else’s, already very well lined, pockets or compromising our beliefs. Or both. So, Riverflow Clothing was born out of a desire to work for ourselves and to earn our money in a way that didn’t compromise our ethics and values. We don’t want to make money at the expense of others or the environment, so we try to ensure our business has the minimum negative impact possible. Everything we sell is fairly traded and ethically sourced, and our packaging is biodegradable or compostable too!

We get our stock by buying up samples, previous season and end of line stock from several fair trade importers, which means we can pass on the saving we make by offering everything at prices we’d be prepared to pay ourselves. Also, pretty much everything we stock is unique; it’s rare we have 2 of the same item.

the riverflow boat in the summerWhen did you set up and how did it go?

We set up just over a year ago. Matt was working full time so we sold at the odd event here and there to test the water. It was a slow and sometimes disheartening start. There were a lot of initial expenses, aside from the stock itself and rails etc, we’ve had to buy a box trailer to store everything and a stall frame for outdoor events. It’s also always a gamble booking new events, sometimes you pay a hefty stall fee and footfall is really low or it’s just the wrong sort of event. We made a few bad choices to start with but then, we had a stall at a local music festival in the summer and did really well which was a massive confidence boost. Since then we’ve been more selective about which events we book and have found it’s well worth traveling a distance for the right events.

Do you enjoy your work?

When we have a stall at an ethical event, it doesn’t feel like working: we get to spend the day together as a family and meet a whole bunch of lovely people. We’re definitely on the look out for more of those this year.

Riverflow is not the only work we do however. Miriam works a couple of days a week in a local charity shop and Matt has does some freelance website design. We’re not into profit yet with the clothing and don’t know if we’ll ever make enough to lithe twins playing in the show by the boatve on it exclusively – but we’ve grown a lot in a year though and feel like we’ve got a better idea of what we’re doing now!

Describe an average day in the life of you.

The most important thing to us is our family. We try to spend as much time together as possible – something that doing events allows. Do we have an unusual lifestyle? We’re a home educating, vegan, TV free, co-sleeping, attachment parenting, nomadic, live-a-board family. Whether that’s unusual depends on your perspective, but I guess to most people it probably is.

An average day? There isn’t one! As much as possible we try to make sure one of us is available to spend time exclusively with/on the boys. What we’re doing though varies day to day and depends on so much. Matt works mostly from home but Miri is in a different couple of days at the charity shop each week. There are home ed. groups we go to. We have stalls at events. There are lots of chores living on a boat too, so we might have to move the boat to fill life on the waterwayswith water or fuel, take washing to the launderette, visit the builders merchant for a new gas bottle or take recycling and rubbish to the tip. This time of year there’s always wood to fetch and cut. Never appreciated the phrase “there’s not enough hours in the day” as a kid but can completely relate to it now!

What are your ethical principles and how do they guide and motivate you?

We try to have the biggest positive impact and smallest negative impact that we can in everything we do. We don’t really subscribe to any particular set of beliefs as is but veganism, sustainability, fair trade, permaculture, unschooling, attachment parenting, non aggression principle, libertarianism, anarchy and volintarism all come into it somewhere along the way.

We’re fortunate to know a whole bunch of lovely people from different backgrounds and with massively different lifestyles and beliefs. It often makes for interesting conversations and ones that challenge, or make you reaffirm, what you think and do.

Any words of wisdom?

‘Anything is slavery if it isn’t in your heart’

Inner Terrestrials – Thirty Pieces

Lorelei and White-Sox


A few months ago we paid a flying visit to our friend and customer Lorelei, and her darling baby White-Sox (who we adore!). I know that the idea of vegan cat food can seem a little odd at first – here is a good chance to oogle a vegan cat and see how many extra heads it has (not one!). He is really super healthy and ever so playful – a real charmer! We had a fab time exploring a local park and if you watch super closely, you will see White-Sox and Joe wandering around together in the background. Not sure who I love more…. shhhh!! 🙂 Best, Anna xx