When Abby Gnanendran talks about his affordable, fashionable and earth-friendly product line, it sounds glamorous. But the item the president and co-founder of Earth Rated Poop Bags is touting is the little bag dog walkers are obliged to carry.

A move to retail shelves from online forced the Montreal-based company, which was launched in 2010 to take a bite out of the hotly contested pet supply market, to think creatively about how to get customers excited about its lavender-scented decorative poop bags.

The idea for the bags came when grocery stores began charging for plastic bags, which also happen to be a collector’s item for pet owners. “I thought, let’s make a product that’s eco-friendly and affordable that we could sell direct to consumers,” Mr. Gnanendran said.

A big advantage of being in pet supplies is that sales seem to be recession proof…read more.

—Image courtesy of Financial Post