Petco eyes 50% sustainable pet product assortment by 2025
Petco is making a big commitment to sustainability. The San Diego-based retailer this week pledged to increase its sustainable pet product assortment to 50% by the end of 2025, including its private brand products.
The retailer shared a statement with Store Brands that said: "We are actively partnering with our suppliers to meet this goal. While some of our Petco owned brands already offer pet accessories and apparel made with recycled materials, as well as items with reusable packaging, we’re holding our owned brands to an even higher standard and actively looking for ways to drive increased progress in the near and long-term future."
Over the next roughly four years, the company said that half of its pet products sold will need to align with at least one of its five sustainability pillars, which include responsible manufacturing, sustainably sourced materials, sustainably sourced food and treat ingredients, responsible packaging and animal welfare. Along with the announcement, Petco launched a sustainable shopping destination on its website, where some store brand items are included, and is adding in-aisle signage at a majority of its stores.
"Improving the lives of pets and people means improving our impact on the planet too," said Ron Coughlin, Petco chairman and CEO. "We know pet parents find it important for companies they do business with to carry more sustainable products and options. With this ambitious commitment as our first step, we embark on a journey aimed at not just meeting that expectation, but also raising the bar even higher. Petco's sustainability team has my full support to continue driving positive change within our business, industry and the world through ongoing, accelerated efforts."
The company said this effort is just the latest in its ongoing focus on making progress on environmental sustainability, including a commitment to use 92% less plastic and 23% less plastic in its packaging by fulfilling online orders in its stores, which eliminated some 3.6 million lbs. of cardboard waste and 30,000 lbs. of plastic waste last year. The company also is focused on upcycling 1.5 million plastic bottles into pet accessories and eliminating 3.2 million pieces of packaging waste across its owned brand products.
Petco said that the sustainable assortment pledge was in line with its recently launched Whole Health philosophy, and follows its commitment to stop selling food and treats with artificial colors, flavors and preservatives for dogs and cats. It also recently has ended the sale of electronic “shock” collars and removed traditional rawhide offerings in favor of safer, healthier alternatives.
The move also comes ahead of the planned release of the company’s first environments, social and corporate governance report, which is slated for May.