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Pooch Paper: The Future Of Dog Waste Bags

Pooch Paper: The Future Of Dog Waste Bags For A Cleaner And Healthier Environment

ANIMAL INNOVATIONS SHOW - EPISODE 204 - POOCH PAPER

Pooch Paper: The Future Of Dog Waste Bags

Tracy Rosensteel, the founder of Pooch Paper, was once like every other fur parent. She was living in Manhattan, walking her French bulldog almost every day, when she noticed that trash bins along the way stunk and were full of single-use plastics as dog waste bags.

“We ingest a credit card-sized amount of plastic per week.”

With this in mind, she became more determined and interested in resolving environmental and responsible pet care and ownership.

 

What Is Pooch Paper?

Pooch Paper: The Future Of Dog Waste Bags For A Cleaner And Healthier Environment

Made and manufactured in the USA, Pooch Paper is free of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and non-chlorine bleached sheet alternatives for dog waste bags. They are both compostable and biodegradable paper. 

To this day, Pooch Paper has gained more positive and less negative comments from its consumers. In addition, the company already has seven products, including the two Pooch Paper sizes, to cater to almost every fur parent.

“We have a sheet instead, and it is a lot larger than a plastic bag.”

The team ensured that the company partnered with paper manufacturing folks in the industry to bring an eco-friendly product to the world. 

 

Ascending Above Environmental Adversity: Pooch Paper From Challenges To Success

Pooch Paper: The Future Of Dog Waste Bags For A Cleaner And Healthier Environment

Pooch Paper struggled to make a name like any other product in the industry. 

Before Pooch Paper became successful in the market, Tracy Rosensteel and her team struggled with their first few prototypes. Their mission is to mitigate the destructive environmental impact of plastic on the atmosphere.

Take note that plastic is not bio-degradable in nature. Further, a study suggests approximately 500 million dog waste bags clog landfills in the US annually. 

“I believe we’re the only product in the market that’s also PFAS-free.”

What’s interesting about the founder, Tracy Rosensteel, is that she had no academic background or work expertise in chemical engineering. But one thing she thought that helped her with the success of Pooch Paper was how she had experience being a fur mom picking up dog poops.

 

Given all this information, if you are a fur guardian like Tracy who wants to help the environment and reduce negative health impacts, check out a Pooch Paper product and put it into your cart.

Luckily, Pooch Paper has been around in eleven states in the US and has 2,000 retail stores nationwide. In addition, they are looking forward to expanding the business abroad!

Have suggestions for who we should interview next?

Send us a message at [email protected]!

Tracy: I’m Tracy Rosensteel, and you are tuned in to  The Animal Innovations Show.

Chris: Excellent introduction.

So, in addition to all those other things you do, Tracy, tell us who you are and how you’re innovating and helping animals.

Tracy: I founded Pooch Paper,  which is a paper alternative to single-use plastic dog waste bags. That’s a mouthful—just a couple of years ago,  I am an owner, proud owner of a  French bulldog and living in Manhattan and walking him several times every day in Central Park.

I would notice at the end of every day, all the garbage bins were chock full of single-use plastic, which stinks and is gross, and all the rest of it.

So, I thought I’d take a little bit of spare time and have a look at what was on the market.

Because, of course, we all know there’s biodegradable or earth-friendly bags.  And what I learned was the way that those  bags came about was, in essence, after a 2015  warning that was issued to manufacturers in that space  from the FTC suggesting that:

Look, we don’t have an industry standard that suggests X, Y, and Z  means biodegradable plastic, because as we both know,  plastic is not biodegradable by nature.  It’s not, you know, an eco product. So anyway, they went about deciding what biodegradability means for plastic and how to achieve that within a certain time frame.

So, there are elements that are injected during the manufacturing process of plastic to hasten the breakdown of that plastic.

Fast forward all these years.

The problem that we’re seeing now is instead of the “eco-friendly” biodegradable plastic bags disappearing,  they’re turning instead into hundreds of millions of microplastic particles, those into the air we breathe, the water we drink,  and the food that we consume.

So, on average, it is widely accepted that we ingest up to a credit card size amount of plastic. Guess, how often?

Chris: I don’t even want to know. Every year?

Tracy: Every week.

Chris: Every week.

Tracy: Every single week, yeah.

It’s been found to cross blood, brain barriers. It’s been found in placenta in women’s breast milk.

It’s everywhere.

The reason I came up with Pooch Paper, after doing all of that research, I thought, you know, there is actually space in this arena to come to the table with a solution that actually does help the planet.

The biggest challenge with my prototypes was figuring out how to not ask a consumer to change the paradigm of how they pick up dog waste today.

And that was an issue because every time I tried  any type of paper, the bag would rip, putting your hand inside the bag and pulling—you know, reversing out.

So, we have a sheet instead.  And it’s a lot larger than a plastic bag is.  Typically those are eight inches wide by 13 long and half of the 13 is up on your wrist, as you know.

So, we have two sizes, 12 x 12 and 14 x 14.  We’ve had really positive response to it.

The other thing in just determining supply chain and how to make a—have a bill become a law, I guess,  with this process was to ensure that we partnered with folks  in the business of paper manufacturing, where we really did  bring an eco-friendly product to market.

So, our paper first and foremost is made in the USA.  So, as far as supply chain is concerned, you’re shipping things in from halfway  around the world by the time they get there— Have you really reduced any type of carbon footprint?

That’s one question.

But the paper is a non-chlorine bleach, PFAS chemical-free and a paper alternative. So, it’s 100% biodegradable, 100% compostable, and  it’s manufactured at a carbon-neutral facility.

Chris: So, how has it gone since you launched this? What have your customers in the market told you?

Tracy: All very positive.

Again, with any other product that— you get good, bad, and ugly. But we’ve had very little bad and ugly,  which is good and very positive.

We’ve grown year on year at roughly 300% and we went from one product to seven products.  So, we’ve expanded our product line, still self-funded.

We did do Shark Tank.  Unfortunately it didn’t work out  in real life, but that happens.

And so, we’re still organically growing.  And I think we’re in about 2000 retail stores nationwide.

We’re actually launching in about—are we in February?  We’re in February, so end of this month.

And then we’re expanding our municipality plastic replacement in cities and towns across the nation. I think we’re across about 11 states today and growing.

Chris: So, what’s next? Is it trying to scale it?  Is it trying to go global?  You already mentioned you have really—7 SKUs now that you’re selling.

But what’s next?

Tracy: We are global to some extent.  So, we’re really growing in Canada.  We also distribute via retail in  South Africa, Dubai, and Japan.

I’m considering—we’re working on how we’re going to work together. My answer is yes.  Let’s just figure out the logistics.  But I have a group in Italy who I’d like  to bring aboard as a distributor for all of Europe.

And there’s some considerations. I don’t know where this will go, but we  possibly will be involved in the Summer Olympics for  2024 in Paris, in the Olympic Village. Well, that’s a hope.

Chris: So Tracy, where can people go buy this?  Where can they find this?  I mean, what’s your website, all those things.

Tracy: Okay, so our website is POOCHPAPER.COM pooch like the dog, paper, like you write on.  We are also on Chewy, Pet Supplies Plus, and a lot  of kind of regional and mom-and-pop niche stores that support our mission, and we support theirs as well.

But, yeah, the Pooch Paper is probably the best way to go find our product.

Chris: As I wrap up the show, I think Tracy said it best. I mean, you might be watching, listening and go, “You know, I’ve always had this idea for something  that can help animals or the people that love them.”

We’d love to talk about it. We’d love to have you on the show.

Just open your browser and go to INNOVATIONS.SHOW, and we’d love to have you on because ideas, the ideas start with you.

And Tracy is a nontraditional person in terms of a  product bringing that kind of a thing to market. But look at what she’s done now and look at what big of an impact that this is going to have.  So, make sure that if you’ve got an idea that we would love to know about it, go check it out.

And of course, please don’t forget to sign up at DOOBERT.COM where you can join the tens of thousands of Dooberteers across the country that are working to  save animals and rescues and shelters.

Sign up for free at DOOBERT.COM.  It’s free to get started.

So, Tracy, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for what you’re doing.  And I want to hear about all the other things  that are in your head because you’ve probably got some other really great ideas as well.

Tracy: I’ve got a few things up my sleeve.

Thank you so much for having me, Chris. I really appreciate it.

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