PETS

Pet Products We'd Actually Use.

Pets are closer to the floor than humans, lick their paws constantly, and groom fur that traps household chemicals. That combination raises their exposure to flame retardants, PFAS-treated stain coatings, and synthetic fragrance well above what a person standing in the same room is breathing [biomonitoring]. Conventional flea-and-tick treatments compound the problem, and the EPA has linked several common active ingredients (fipronil, isoxazolines, organophosphates) to adverse-event reports in pets [regulatory review]. The categories that move the needle: pet bed, food and water bowls, shampoo, flea-and-tick approach, and toys that go in the mouth. Below are the brands our editors use for our own pets, the cheaper alternatives where they exist, and the categories where the supposedly natural option performs worse than a well-chosen conventional one. We say so when that's true.

7 reports · Edited by Lara Voss · How we test