Could “going green” ultimately cost a pet store’s bottom line some money? For retailers who don’t take a measured approach to the natural/eco-friendly product trend, this just may be the case.

Natural and eco-friendly products have and will continue to play an important role for pet specialty retailers. The presence of these items on pet store shelves has set those outlets apart from competitors in the mass and grocery channels. However, several developments over the past couple of years have turned what was once a no-brainer into a much more complex endeavor.

One development that has complicated pet specialty retailers’ efforts to green their product selection is the ongoing economic woes being felt across the country. Although we are no longer technically in a recession, the recovery is going much slower than everyone had hoped it would. As a result, consumer pocketbooks are still tight. In fact, according to a pet owner poll conducted by Packaged Facts,  a market research firm, in February, almost 75 percent of respondents indicated that they either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement, “I think many pet products are becoming too expensive.”

The fact is natural and eco-friendly pet products often carry a premium price tag. Some estimates report that these products can be approximately 20 to 25 percent more expensive than their traditional counterparts. And while pet owners are still clearly willing to pay a premium for these items, it is now more important than ever for retailers to make sure that the natural and eco-friendly products they bring into the store deliver on that promise and offer a real value to consumers.

This chore has become a lot more difficult as the pet care category has gotten a massive influx of natural and eco-friendly products. According to a presentation given by Packaged Facts at last month’s Global Pet Expo, the term “natural” was the number-one marketing claim made by new pet products introduced over the past year; and while a great many of these products do deliver on this promise, there is also a lot of “green-washing” going on. Green-washing refers to the practice of slapping a “natural” or “eco-friendly” label on products for which that claim is thinly deserved, at best.

At the end of the day, the greening of the pet care category is still greatly benefiting independent specialty retailers. But it would be a mistake to think that simply relying on packaging claims is good enough today. With consumers becoming ever more price conscious and knowledgeable on what it means to be natural or eco-friendly, it’s no longer easy being green.