In PET PRODUCT NEWS: Pet Businesses Win Green America’s People & Planet Award


This article originally appeared in Pet Product News, on

Three small green businesses offering green pet and animal products in New York, California and North Carolina are winners of Green America’s People & Planet Award. The winners of $5,000 prizes are: The Honest Kitchen and Front Yard Coop. The grand-prize winner, Full Circle Seed, will receive $10,000 in recognition of having received the highest number of votes.

The People & Planet Award recognizes innovative U.S. small businesses that integrate environmental and social considerations into their strategies and operations. The winners were selected by the public during a month-long online voting period.

“When we talk about benefiting people and the planet, it’s important not to forget how animals play a role,” said Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director. “Some business practices, including ones commonly used by the agriculture industry, put profits over corporate responsibility. Pet and animal products that are environmentally friendly and produced ethically are just as important today as ever.”

The winning companies are:

  • Syracuse, N.Y.-based Full Circle Feed’s treats are made with vegetables, meats, fruits and breads from restaurant buffets that were prepared but not served. The result is a healthy, delicious, environmentally sustainable dog treat, according to the company. For too long, our society has disposed of billions of tons of extra food, which Full Circle Feed now upcycles into high-quality food, the company stated.
  • According to San Diego-based The Honest Kitchen, the company offers 100 percent free-range, antibiotic-free and sustainably raised chicken and turkey; only wild-caught, MSC-certified fish and non-GMO produce and organic seeds and grains are used; and all of its manufacturing takes place in North America to reduce transportation and carbon emissions.
  • The Front Yard Coop in Asheville, N.C., is the world’s first solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop, according to the company. While chicken coops are a booming business and a growing segment of the DIY community, the Front Yard Coop is unique, offering technological innovations, solar power and contemporary design, the company states.

    “Full Circle Feed will use the funds to set up a more environmentally friendly production process and drying method,” said Michael Amadori, founder of Full Circle Feed. “In particular, instead of using electricity or natural gas we plan to use waste heat or biogas generated from anaerobic digestion to bake our dog biscuits. This will greatly reduce our ecological footprint and give us the most sustainable dog treats on the market. We are very grateful to Green America for the recognition and being selected in the People & Planet award.”

    Lucy Postins, founder of The Honest Kitchen, said: “It’s a huge honor to have our commitments to sustainable and humane ingredient sourcing and other environmental efforts recognized in this way. We’re working toward furthering our goals in these areas, including the integration of free-range eggs into our supply chain and increasing our usage of grass-fed beef, as well as other initiatives for packaging reduction and recycling. We’ll be using our prize to make a direct impact at our home office, by building a vegetable garden in our outdoor space and adding office kitchen composting facilities to help further reduce our environmental paw print.”

    Peter Zander, founder of Front Yard Coop said: “Winning this award will especially help with new product initiatives as we continue to grow in our new home of North Carolina. The small homestead movement is particularly vigorous in the Asheville region, and we hope that the Front Yard Coop will be a helpful product for the new age homesteader.”

    Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems.