You don’t have any excuse this holiday season for not buying Fido a gift. On Christmases past you used to tell your disappointed canine or saddened kitty- that you can’t stand the thought of cluttering up a landfill or damaging the environment with another toy. Those days are over. This Christmas, you can shop for Lassie with abandon and pamper Precious with a plethora of green pet products available to discriminating animals everywhere.

People who are serious about their pets’ health will want to feed them the same kinds of foods they eat themselves: organic and all-natural. There are entire rows of treats made from all-natural, organically-grown ingredients at your local pet supply store in both cat and dog varieties, or you can check out http://www.onlynaturalpet.com for a slew of tempting treats for your favorite companion.

There are plenty of recyclable, eco-friendly toys available for every taste. Kimberly Hall, owner of the Haute Hound Pet Boutique (http://www.thehautehound.com), says their organic cotton pet toys are consistently their hottest sellers. Upscale sustainable boutique Branch (http://www.branchhome.com) has a selection of eco-sweet and fun pet toys and products, all handmade and fair trade. Their coolest item: an immaculately-designed, modernist scratching post for cats made of recycled corrugated cardboard. Be the first on your block to say your cat’s scratching post is designer art.

Once you have all the animals in your life taken care of, it’s time to decide what to get for all the animal lovers. You can help them out with practical pet gifts like biodegradable doggie-doo bags (available at Sofa Bear, http://www.sofabear.com), organic pet shampoos and conditioners, or bamboo collars, feeding dish holders, and leashes; you can even get washable, reusable piddle pads for accident-prone pooches (all available from the Haute Hound).

If whimsical is your gifting style, pick them up some dog paw-print picture frames made from recycled barn wood, or horseshoe towel holders made from previously-used horseshoes, both available at Sofa Bear, a small site with a big heart.

Sherri Bullock, the owner and operator of Sofa Bear, started her website a year ago to share her twin passions: her three beautiful dogs and the environment. “We’re such a throwaway society,” she says. “Let’s not buy a toy” only to have it thrown away. What is Sofa Bear’s bestseller? A dog toy made from climbing rope and tennis balls.

If you are one of those people who think putting clothes on their pet is adorable, there are plenty of eco-friendly pet clothing options available to you at the Haute Hound. They have shirts and hoodies emblazoned with environmentally-conscious messages and made of eco-friendly materials, so your pet can preach the virtues of sustainable living and look good doing it. The Haute Hound even carries pet-themed gift bags made of recycled material to wrap all the goodies for gifting.

So what are this year’s hottest pet products? According to Kimberly Hall, owner of the Haute Hound, “the eco friendly toys are always the most popular gift purchased for pets during the holidays. They are the perfect fit for your dog’s stocking too!"

by David Kierski