Please read the following post for important information on how I’ve chosen my recommendations:
TLDR: All the same stuff that’s bad for you is bad for your pets—only their bodies are smaller and thus toxins are more concentrated. Here’s just one study of many: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1023818/full Get them high quality stuff to help them live healthier lives.
Why you should care: They’re your best friend. ‘Nuff said.
What you should buy: https://myessentia.com/products/kingston?sscid=b1k8_z1btr
Dog beds made of plastic and full of fire retardants are bad for you AND bad for them. It’s a good idea to invest and get something good and (mostly) chemical-free. This was an expensive purchase for me, and I waited for a sale. But it could save me money on vet bills, human doctor bills AND give me more time with my beloved animals. Worth it.
I actually didn’t buy the bed that I recommended. It was too big for my dog’s crate. I ended up purchasing from The Futon. https://www.thefutonshop.com/certifications (If purchasing, make sure to get a wool filling, which is temperature-regulating and no outside coating.) I don’t recommend The Futon Shop if you’re not prepared to wait. It took a couple follow-up emails before they finally sent me a shipping confirmation. You can message the company directly to ask for a discount on the product as it and shipping are expensive. If you live in California or Seattle you can pick the beds up directly. They also ship the beds with a ridiculous amount of plastic and now I have a huge pile of the stuff that I have to repurpose somehow. It’s a huge pain and not environmentally friendly at all.
If I were to do it over, I’d get My Essentia. I wanted to use non-plastic, Oeko-Tex and/or GOTS certified materials. Several of the sites fill their beds with recycled water bottles, which is awesome but not for me. Avocado had some parts of the bed that were certified but not everything. The Rawganique looked amazing, but the price was more expensive than My Essentia.
No matter what you buy, ask the company to ship you the product without plastic.
NOTE: Bearaby and Omi mattress are both no longer available. You can still get Avocado but not through the site. You have to message customer support with exactly what you want and they’ll send you a link to buy it. (I asked but they wouldn’t tell me why it’s such an odd buying process!)
Additional Reading:
https://www.leafscore.com/eco-friendly-pet-products/best-eco-friendly-dog-beds/
https://www.petplay.com/pages/oeko-tex
https://iheartdogs.com/best-eco-friendly-dog-beds/
https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/eco-friendly-dog-beds
https://www.greenmatters.com/green-matters-approved/best-dog-beds
https://www.rover.com/blog/reviews/organic-dog-beds
https://theroundup.org/what-is-natural-latex/
https://rawganique.com/products/sesame-organic-cotton-dog-cat-pet-bed?Click=140523
https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com/collections/dog-beds/products/organic-dog-bed
Photo Credit: Jamie Street