Seventh Generation, the Future in Eco-friendly Home Cleaning Supplies.
 
When it comes to creating a greener home, Seventh Generation is an environmentally friendly product line that you can feel good about. My first introduction to Seventh Generation was while I was searching for some laundry detergent in the cleaning supplies aisle of London Drugs. Trying to be a bit more aware of my environmental choices, I thought I would buy one of those eco-friendly brands. However, when I reached the laundry detergent, I was stumped. There sat two natural cleaning brands side-by-side that were essentially the same price for the same number of loads. Both products looked the same to me, but the name Seventh Generation intrigued me so having never heard of the company, I decided to take a chance and see what this product was about. My product choice was then validated when the lovely lady at the cashier asked me if I had ever heard of the vision and work being done at Seventh Generation and encouraged me to look it up when I got home. Not entirely sure how laundry detergent could have some greater vision behind it, but intrigued by her enthusiasm, I took a few minutes when I arrived back home to see what she meant. It didn’t take long before I was completely absorbed in my research on what was being done at Seventh Generation. Here are some of the really cool ways I learned Seventh Generation was helping to create a more sustainable planet:
 
The Name
Since one of the first things that intrigued me about the product was the name, that’s what I looked into first. What I discovered was that Seventh Generation isn’t just a brand name, but an ideology with the future of our environment in mind. As the name reinforces, Seventh Generation isn’t concerned with a quick fix to our environment’s deterioration. Instead, the organization tries to imagine how their products will impact the lives of those in the next seven generations.
 
The Vision: No Plastic, No Petroleum by 2020!     
                                                                                                                                            
 
 
No Plastic!
This idea of using no plastic or petroleum in their products by 2020 seemed a bit too idealistic for me, until I realized that they are well on their way to achieving this goal. The progress towards the first part of their goal, no more plastic in their packaging, is evident in their latest 4x Laundry Detergent that demonstrates a new kind of innovative recycled fiber shell casing. The 4X concentration of the liquid allows for 66 loads of laundry in only a 50oz bottle. This uses 66% less plastic than the typical bottle size of 100oz for 66 loads! By changing the product concentration and using a new package casing technique, Seventh Generation was able to drastically lower their use of plastic for their packaging.                                                 
                                                                                                                                                     
 But changing one product isn’t enough to reach their 2020 goal, so I kept looking at how they were changing their other products use of plastic as well. That’s when I came across their Recycled Kitchen Trash Bags. I know, the words recycle and trash in the same product name seemed strange to me too, but actually it’s a really cool idea! Since no matter how hard we try some garbage is inevitable, trying to minimize the garbage in our garbage by using repurposed plastic trash bags is a much more sustainable choice for our homes. In a variety of sizes and made from 55-80% recycled plastic, it is easy to find a size that works for you and the environment. While these trash bags still use plastic, the important thing to note is that it is significantly reducing the amount of plastic that Seventh Generation would need to otherwise create, they are simply making use of a product that already exists and reformulating it for a much more sustainable use. Plus, according to the Seventh Generation website, “if every US household replaced one package of 30ct trash bags made from virgin plastic and our 19% post-consumer recycled and 34% repurposed ones, we could save 51,000 barrels of oil!” If using these trash bags can save that much oil today, just think how many barrels of oil can be saved when in a couple years they perfect their technology for 100% recycled trash bags, or better yet, biodegradable trash bags!
 
In addition to this innovative use of recycled plastic, Seventh Generation has come out with a long list of products since 2012 that now use 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic packaging. For those of you who are unfamiliar with PCR plastic, as I was prior to writing this article, it is clear plastic (such as a water bottle) that has, “completed its life cycle as a consumer item and would otherwise have been disposed of as a solid waste product.” (Genpak) So what Seventh Generation does, is take all of this recycled plastic and remodel it for their plastic packaging on items such as their 2X Laundry Detergent, their Natural Dish Detergent, and Hand Soap bottles to name a few!
 
No Petroleum!
Eliminating their use of petroleum is part of Seventh Generation’s plan to create products that are made from 100% bio-based materials. This is done by using the carbon found in the fibers of many different kinds of plants. By focusing on using plants to create effective cleaning products, rather than petroleum, Seventh Generation is saving the earth from using thousands and thousands of oil barrels to create their products. While many natural eco cleaning brands are making the same switch, Seventh Generation has the highest number of products that have been certified by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new bio-based certification program. An example of one of their certified products is once again the 4x Laundry Detergent that is made from 96% bio-based material.
 
Other than reducing the organization’s use of oil for their products, why does using bio-based material matter? Well for those of you with a newborn or toddler crawling around your house, Seventh Generation’s line of baby products ensures that whatever your baby touches is clean and chemical free! Rather than using harsh sprays that are loaded with chemicals, creating products from 100% natural ingredients removes the threat of such harmful chemicals from entering your baby’s world. This becomes especially important when your baby is teething and everything in site becomes a sucking soothing sensation. Would you want to be putting chemically cleaned things in your mouth? Your baby doesn’t either!
                                                                                             
 
Certified B Corp!
Finally, what made seventh generation really seem different to me was not only their dedication to sustainability regarding the environment, but also to act sustainably in their social communities both in and outside of the office. As a Certified B Corporation Seventh Generation is dedicated to benefiting “society, not just the shareholders” (B-Corp). With this in mind they have developed 5 values that they are working towards within their offices: Care Wholeheartedly, Collaborate Deliberately, Nurture Nature, Innovate Disruptively, Be a Trusted Brand.
 
Seventh Generation is an organization that recognizes our current consumer habits are not sustainable and if more companies don’t act now, the beautiful environment we enjoy today will disappear! With this in mind Seventh Generation is continually trying to create more sustainable products, packaging and manufacturing methods to help lessen their environmental footprint and the footprint of their consumers!
 
Alas, what did I learn? That apparently my spontaneous choice was the right one, and I am happy to support, in the small way that I can, an organization that is so much more than just the product we see on the shelf!
 
For more information on Seventh Generation visit:
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/
(You can use their product locator to find which store near you is carrying the product you are looking for!)
For more information regarding B Corporations visit:
http://www.bcorporation.net/index.php
Genpak:
http://www.genpak.com/green-room/post-consumer/
Kirsten Imrie