West Paw Design | United States
West Paw is a business that brings people and pets together. From the beginning, our business vision was modest but profound: to manufacture our own products and sell them to pet stores that appreciate toys and beds with excellent quality and design, while also being environmentally friendly.
Open book
Since its early days, West Paw has operated an open-book management company, sharing strategy and decision-making with its engaged workforce. It has a rigorous meeting schedule that keeps the nearly 80 employees educated and informed on its financial condition, openly reviewing numbers for both the profit and loss statement and balance sheet. Every year, the budget is developed and shared, along with quarterly performance levels that, when achieved, yield a 50/50 split on any dollars gained above the quarterly level. With all employees having an opportunity to increase their wage by up to 10% through the Gainshare program, there is an inherent drive to improve the business and serve the customer, as well as to support each other.
Certified B Corp
As part of its commitment to the larger community, West Paw has been a Certified B Corp since 2013. It has leveraged the free and rigorous assessment that all Certified B Corps must take in order to improve results on environmental sustainability, worker conditions and community actions. With over 2,000 B Corps worldwide, West Paw is part of a movement to use business success as a force for good in the world. B Corps include notable brands such as Patagonia in the US and Natura in Brazil. As members of the B Corp community, these businesses agree to become part of an interconnected web to improve all businesses and business practices. Since becoming a B Corp, West Paw has seen its employee engagement grow even further through its employee-founded PAWs (Positive Actions for Workers) team, which celebrates employee successes and creates fun, culture-building activities. Additionally, the employee-founded Community team has championed local charities through company-paid volunteerism and company funds.
Pet Sustainability Coalition
Sustainability leadership is deeply valued and celebrated at West Paw through its own internal actions, as well as through its work in establishing the Pet Sustainability Coalition. Since its founding in 2014, the Pet Sustainability Coalition has fostered collaboration in the Pet Industry and brought improvements to companies that desire to use their business to promote a profit-driven, eco-friendly economy. PSC has partnered with B Corp by providing all members of PSC access to the B Impact Assessment. This partnership allows pet industry companies to utilize a customized, simple and insightful assessment to establish a baseline for sustainability improvements.
As a Founding Member, West Paw has helped fund PSC, as well as serving on its Advisory Board, creating connection and community around the belief that when the environment thrives, so do we all.
As a successful business, West Paw keeps its retailers in the forefront by continuing to innovate and bring fresh thinking to recycled and organic materials, product designs and distribution models. The company is known world-wide for its Zogoflex® thermoplastic that is used to produce the most sustainable and durable toys in the industry. Today, West Paw sells directly to over 3,000 US and Canadian retailers, and supplies distributors and retailers in over 30 countries from its factory in Bozeman, Montana. The future for West Paw is bright as it continues to focus on its vision that “businesses success will be friendly to both people and planet.” With a world of possibilities in new markets and product lines, and with the support of a highly engaged workforce, West Paw is leveraging 20 years of success and aiming for a strong and sustainable future.