West Paw
The West Paw Design Story
You've found us! We're excited to share our story with you . . .
In 1996, Montana-native Spencer Williams, purchased a small pet toy company in Livingston, Montana. Growing up on a ranch a few hours away, animals had a special place in his heart - especially stray dogs and cats. So, with five full-time employees, and an impressive team of home-sewers, they set out to make the world's safest and highest quality dog and cat toys.
Four years later, the company outgrew its facility so all 15 employees packed up and headed west (about 26 miles) to Bozeman (population: 28,000). Instead of outsourcing manufacturing to Asia, which was the current trend in the 90’s, Spencer decided to invest in local talent and built a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly manufacturing facility where we still operate from today.
SUSTAINABLY SPEAKING:
When you live and work in a place like Montana, you can’t help but be inspired by the planet’s natural beauty. This is why we incorporate sustainable practices in manufacturing and thoughtfully design our toys and beds. An example of this is our award winning and extremely durable Zogoflex® dog toys - they can all be infinitely recycled through our Join the Loop® program. It also inspired us to became co-founders of the Montana Coalition for the Outdoors and Pet Sustainability Coalition.
"YOU'RE GOING TO MANUFACTURE DOG TOYS, THAT'S CUTE"
The crew at West Paw Design always knew they were going to do more than "manufacture dog toys," they were going to make a difference . . .
In 2016, Forbes magazine named us "One of the Best Small Companies" in America. West Paw Design was Montana's first Benefit Corporation and the first pet product company to become a Certified B Corp. West Paw Design has also been recognized as the "Best Place to Work in Montana". We currently employ 70 + employees who are continually challenged to design the world’s most eco-friendly and safest pet products.
While some thing have changed, a lot remains the same. We still use USDA certified organic catnip in its cat toys and store finished goods in re-usable banana boxes (keeping them out of the landfill and eliminating the need to buy plastic totes). The team continues to develop responsible and eco-friendly manufacturing practices in all areas of the company. We were the first pet product company to use IntelliLoft®, a recycled plastic fill and fabric in our toys and beds.
It’s been over 20 years since Spencer started the company now known as West Paw Design and he couldn't be happier. “Pets add so much joy to people’s lives and one of our values is to give back to them with great products. Being in Montana, and working with an amazing team of people, is not a bad way to spend my days.”
Made by US. Designed for the love of pets and the planet™.
