In 1967, Singapore launched the Garden City programme, with a vision to make our nation a highly liveable city filled with greenery. Our first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew said, “I have always believed that a blighted jungle of concrete destroys the human spirit. We need the greenery of nature to lift up our spirits.”

Open green spaces, park connectors, boardwalks, beaches, and exceptional urban planning and design sets Singapore as an outstanding eco-city in Asia. However, what can the average business owner here do to promote sustainability at an individual level?

When we reflect upon our own beliefs at BELLY UP, we realise that selling an ethically-sourced and honest product is one of our core tenets. Sustainability in business helps us to promote awareness to care more about our environment to the pet supplies industry and also to other pet owners.

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability in the business context focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It often encompasses three pillars: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability - also colloquially referred to as profits, planet, and people (3P).

When a business is able to achieve a balance between the 3Ps, it will be deemed as a sustainable business.

Why do we need to be sustainable?

As conscious guardians of our pets and our planet, we are driven to serve the needs of the ecosystem that revolves around the pet supplies industry. We see sustainability as the only way of doing business in the long-term, instead of it being an afterthought.

If our farmers and producers are not fairly compensated, we will be generating more gaps in economic and social inequality, which leads to a whole host of other issues. If our ingredients are not produced in a manner that reduces harm to our planet, we will not be able to feed future generations, and ecosystems will die off completely.

The starkest distinction would be the awareness of how our business’ activities impact everything else around us. BELLY UP is the brainchild of pet parents who were seeking organic and natural produce to feed their pets. This was born from our love for animals and our motivation to provide only the best for them. If, during the course of giving our pups the best, we harmed the environment, other animals, and sparked a discourse on reasonable wages for farmers, we would have failed utterly.

Our commitment to sustainability.

At BELLY UP, we conduct regular reviews of our supply chain to ensure that all three pillars of sustainability have been met. We constantly relook into fair trade practices in both our American and Australian supply chains, and ensure that we help to keep prices competitive for our farmers, manufacturers, and our customers.

Although not all industries can be Fair Trade certified, all of our suppliers observe Fair Trade principles such as; (i) Long-Term Direct Trading Relationships, (ii) Payment of Fair Prices, (iii) No Child, Forced or Otherwise Exploited Labor, (iv) Workplace Non-Discrimination, Gender Equity, and Freedom of Association.

In addition, our suppliers are currently Plastic Neutral, which means that they produce a net zero plastic footprint.

To reinforce our efforts on social sustainability, we have also been consistently supporting Singapore’s animal welfare groups financially. As of the publish date of this post, BELLY UP has donated all of our profits to date to local animal shelters and rescue groups through our Giving initiative.

“You use plastic for your packaging and mailers, are there non-plastic alternatives that you can use?”

We have been working with our mail suppliers and logistics providers to come up with eco-friendly solutions to our mailers. This will soon become a solution for us and we will start opting for more sustainable mailer alternatives soon.

At the moment, global packaging technology is still rapidly evolving and developing sustainable ways to contain produce with a longer shelf-life. However, there are currently no alternatives for us to package our treats with a 12-month shelf life, which is the standard shelf life of all our products. Most of the alternatives, such as bioplastics made from cassava, are unable to withstand the moist environments in Singapore long enough for the shelf life of our pet treats. If you know of a plastic alternative that will suit our business needs, please reach out and let us know!

Building a future with the pet community.

“Teamwork makes the dream work” is not just another motivational quote here at BELLY UP. We believe in working together with our retailers, manufacturers, farmers, and our customers in promoting sustainable practices in the pet supplies industry. Whether it is through BELLY UP Giving or Community, or even harnessing the power of our retailers to promote the explicit impacts of sustainability, we are committed to graduating the pet supplies eco-system into a future-proof economy.

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xo
Nellie