Who says low-waste living is only reserved for those with opposable thumbs? Eco-friendly cat litter is the foundation of any conscious cat parent’s zero waste kit(ten)—especially considering two million tons of litter waste gets channeled into landfills in the U.S. every year
Not only that, but a lot of conventional cat litter is full of fillers, dust, and chemicals that aren’t good for you, the air in your home, or most of all, your feline friend. This may seem dim and dreary, but don’t let it get you meow-n!
We’ve rounded up some of the best eco-friendly cat litters to ensure the only nasty stuff inside that litter box is something that came from your cat.
Just a these healthier litters refresh the air in your home, our new Brand Rating System is refreshing how we approach these lists in coming months. It will now look at brands across 22 criteria—think: climate action, animal welfare, and product performance—that you can learn about here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
The Best Eco-Friendly Cat Litter We’re Meowing About
Tuft + Paw is fully transparent on the ingredients—which never includes fragrances or chemicals—in their tofu-based affordable eco-friendly cat litter.
Naturally Fresh uses walnut shells from their family walnut farm to make their sustainable kitty litter.
Index: Environmentally Friendly Cat Litter Brands
- Tuft + Paw Jump to brand
- Naturally Fresh Jump to brand
- World's Best Cat Litter Jump to brand
- Okocat Jump to brand
- sWheat Scoop Jump to brand
- Pioneer Pet Jump to brand
- KatKin Jump to brand
Tuft + Paw
Tuft + Paw’s Environmentally Friendly Cat Litter
Price Range: $29–$79
You’ve heard of tofu as a meat replacement, but what about a litter replacement?
Tuft + Paw is a feline-focused brand that produces eco-friendly kitty litter out of a soybean byproduct from the tofu industry that would otherwise go to the landfill. That’s combined with only four other chemical-free ingredients: corn starch, corn flour, guar gum, and charcoal.
It’s a low tracking, dust free, and clumping litter that is plant based and biodegradable, and the soybean fiber byproduct makes for a soft surface for cat’s paws, though from what we can tell, Tuft + Paw’s litter comes in a plastic bag that we’re not sure is easily recyclable.
About Tuft + Paw
If you purchase a Tuft + Paw product—whether it be their “Really Great Cat Litter” or feline furniture—with the intention of donating it to a cat shelter, that product is automatically 50% off.
The brand makes an effort to source recycled materials when possible for their products, and each cat furniture piece includes a partial cost breakdown, so you have visibility into how much is spent on materials and labor.
Naturally Fresh
Naturally Fresh’s Eco-Friendly Natural Cat Litter
Price Range: $20–$33
Naturally Fresh is a brand that turns walnut shells from their family farm in California into biodegradable cat litter with sustainable odor-control.
Like other plant-based cat litter, Natural Fresh’s walnut cat litter is also compostable and biodegradable. Naturally Fresh claims that their litter neutralizes odor better than clay, pine, corn, and wheat (without toxic fragrances), and that their litter absorbs 3x better than clay litters.
Its solar-powered production also uses 42% fewer fossil fuels, 97% fewer mineral resources, and produces 130% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than that of clay litters. Plus, the walnut trees the shells come from act as a carbon sink for absorbing CO2. What’s nut to love?
About Naturally Fresh
Naturally Fresh regularly donates litter to cats in need, and specifically partners with shelters that pursue both sustainable practices and animal welfare.
The manufacturing process produces minimal transport emissions due to a 16-mile production radius. While their litter comes in a plastic bag, they’ve committed to switching to recyclable packaging by 2025.
World's Best Cat Litter
World’s Best’s Eco-Friendly Clumping Cat Litter
Price Range: $10–$70
World’s Best is an activism focused brand committed to providing a litter that both you and your cat will love, helping out cat shelters and new pet parents in the process.
Their dust free litter is made out of corn, with no chemical additives. It’s more dust free and absorbing than traditional clay clumping litter, making that litter box easier and safer to clean.
While corn is biodegradable, we’d like to see more information from World’s Best regarding how their corn is sourced, particularly since corn can be a problematic crop when it comes to water usage and soil stewardship.
About World’s Best Cat Litter
World’s Best’s website is chock-full of resources for current and prospective cat owners, from guidance on how to choose the right shelter to pros and cons of adopting a senior special needs kitty.
They also pledge to #GIVEACRAP through their Give Litter initiative, by promising to donate up to 3 million pounds of litter to the 3 million+ cats that get taken to animal shelters every year. If you post a picture of you and your cat with the custom photo frame, then World’s Best will donate 5 pounds of litter to a shelter.
Okocat
ökocat’s Sustainable Cat Litter
Price Range: $16–$29
“Öko” is the German equivalent of the English “eco”—so ökocat means “eco cat.” It’s the perfect name for a brand that prioritizes eco-friendly litter for katzen. Their sustainable paper litter is made from natural wood fibers that are screened and de-dusted, with no artificial fragrances, synthetic chemicals, dyes, or GMOs.
The litter also controls odors before they start by absorbing liquid on contact, which prevents enzymes from binding with liquid and waste and fosters a fresh smelling litter box.
The wood fibers ökocat uses complies with the standards set by all three major sustainable forestry certifications, and the production process upcycles millions of pounds of paper and wood fibers that would have otherwise gone to the landfill. Over 50% of the water used for the manufacturing process is recycled and reused.
About ökocat
ökocat is affiliated with the Pet Sustainability Coalition, and sustainability messaging is added to all product packaging to increase awareness of pet sustainability and recycling options.
They’re committed to the wellbeing of their employees through education partnerships with local colleges, a comprehensive benefits package, and a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm to market program.
sWheat Scoop
sWheat Scoop’s Corn-Based Earth-Friendly Cat Litter
Price Range: $15-$50
Don’t sWheat litterbox cleaning—or rather, do sWheat it. sWheat scoop is an eco-friendly cat litter brand that uses renewable wheat and corn. The litter is biodegradable and dust free. The natural enzymes and starches in wheat makes a natural clumping litter that controls odor—without added chemicals.
While sWheat does use plastic packaging, they have an ongoing partnership with Plastic Bank, an initiative that helps keep plastic out of oceans and builds up local communities.
About sWheat Scoop
Beyond information on the sustainability of their litter, sWheat Scoop doesn’t provide insight into their supply chain or labor practices, so have reached out to the brand to learn more.
Pioneer Pet
SmartCat by Pioneer Pet’s Eco-Friendly Cat Litters
Price Range: $13–$30
SmartCat by Pioneer Pet has two lines of eco-friendly cat litters: a natural grass cat litter, and a corn-based litter. Both low-dust, natural clumping litter lines come from renewable resources, and are fragrance free. But watch out: Pioneer Pet also sells a clumping clay litter, which is less eco-friendly than their grass and wheat options.
It appears the litter comes in plastic packaging, and it is unclear whether the packaging can be recycled.
About Pioneer Pet
While plant-based, biodegradable litter is a great start, we would love to know more about how they manufacture the litter and have reached out to ask.
KatKin
KatKin’s Eco-Friendly Clumping Cat Litter
Price Range: Unknown. Subscription plan prices are quoted based on your specific cat’s needs.
“Meet the UK’s first health-monitoring cat litter” courtesy of KatKin. This Scoop Health litter features special color-changing technology designed to detect pH irregularities and identify urine health problems.
Their other sustainable litter is Scoop Tofu, a clumping litter made of a soybean byproduct. It’s dust free and soft on cats’ feet—good for litter boxes for more sensitive cats. 80% of the soya bean is used to make tofu, while the other 20% usually goes to waste. KatKin uses that 20% byproduct to make a soft, non-toxic and biodegradable cat litter that’s good for your pet and the planet.
The eco-friendly cat litter bags are curbside recyclable, so no need to drop it off at a special recycling location.
About KatKin
UK-based KatKin is primarily known for their custom cat food subscriptions. Their easy yet comprehensive quiz will help ensure your cat is matched with the best food for their breed, age, and more. Unfortunately, their products are not available individually, but must be purchased as part of the subscription plan.
You can refer your favorite shelter to KatKin and they will provide them with a unique discount code. The shelter can then share the discount code with new cat parents and for each one that uses the code, KatKin donates £20 to the referring shelter.
I have been using Naturally Fresh for approximately a year. While the initial transition to this litt was great, it ended up being the same old same old. Dust was unbelievable and leaves almost a suitty residue that gets into everything. While it does clump well it lacks odor control and does mold and has a smell of yeast. My litter boxes are maintained daily. I also have a compost pile designated for used litter so I am anxious to see how well it does compost. I feel with all the hype of “eco friendly”, there is still room for great improvement. Maybe I am doing something wrong or maybe I just got a bad batch but wish the marketing of pet products would start living up to what they say it is. I am a firm believer that if you want to walk the talk, than do it honestly.