60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Seventh Generation Mission and Values
Name
Seventh Generation takes its name from the Great Law of the Haudenosaunee, the founding
document of the Iroquois Confederacy, the oldest living participatory democracy on Earth.
Along with the Magna Carta, the Great Law was one of the key inspirations for our country’s
own constitution. It was created in the late 16th century when five warring Iroquois tribes– the
Cayugas, Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Senecas—lay down their weapons and joined
together in a new nation in what is now New York State. As their governing document, the
Great Law instructs that “in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our
decisions on the next seven generations.”
Mission
Seventh Generation was founded in 1988 to provide environmentally-friendly household
products that help consumers lessen their impact on the planet. Our mission is to inspire a
more conscious and sustainable world by being an authentic force for positive change. This
mission is embodied in and fulfilled by our Global Imperatives and our Operating Principles.
Contents Global Imperatives ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Operating Principles: ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Sustainability Goals............................................................................................................................................ 3
2009 Savings Statement .................................................................................................................................... 3
Setting New Industry Standards ...................................................................................................................... 4
Seventh Generation Global Initiatives ............................................................................................................ 5
Marketing for a Cause ....................................................................................................................................... 7
10% For a Better World .................................................................................................................................... 8
Transforming Our Community ........................................................................................................................ 9
Transforming Our Industry .............................................................................................................................. 9
Transforming Business ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Conversations With Our Consumers ............................................................................................................10
Building a Better World at the Workplace ...................................................................................................11 60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Global Imperatives
Our Global Imperatives help us become the change we want to see in the world.
Restore the Environment. Restore is the next “reduce, reuse, recycle.” We are working
to ensure that our products have a circular lifecycle, meaning natural resources are
being used and renewed at a rate that is always below their rate of depletion.
Inspire Conscious Consumption. Our focus is to inspire thoughtful consideration of
each purchase—from the immediate impact of the products you buy (Is it safe? Does it
work?) to the broader impacts created by their lifecycles.
Create a Just and Equitable World. We’re committed to making sure that everyone
our company interacts with—from the farmers who grow our lavender to the
customers who use our products—are treated fairly and with respect.
Operating Principles:
Our operating principles help us bring our Mission and Global Imperatives into our
daily lives.
Systems Thinking. As suggested by The Great Law of the Iroquois, we strive to act with the
knowledge that our business belongs to a larger system in which everything is interconnected,
and that everything we do affects everything else.
Radical Transparency. We believe that the best way to ensure that we live up to our
aspirations is to be completely transparent about our business and product practices. You
should expect to see all of our values and principles in everything we make, say, and do.
Influence Beyond Our Size. We are determined to inspire others through innovation,
education, and interaction.
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Sustainability Goals
Seventh Generation has set a wide of variety of aggressive sustainability goals. These
include:
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Helping our employees reduce their average personal energy use 20% by 2010. (Data
totals for 2010 are not yet available though we know we reached as 14% reduction at
the end of Q1 in 2010.)
Directly sourcing a supply of 100% sustainable palm oil by 2012.
Identifying and eliminating all persistent and/or chronically toxic chemicals used in the
manufacture of our products or found in their ingredients by 2012.
Reducing our virgin plastic use by 80% by 2014.
Full Forest Stewardship Council certification of all our virgin pulp by 2015. (The wood
for almost all of our virgin pulp is currently FSC certified but we have not certified the
chain of custody.)
Making all of our products from 100% renewable plant and mineral sources and
ensuring that they are backyard-compostable and/or biodegradable in the marine
environment by 2015.
Reducing our overall Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) 80% by 2050 from a 2005
baseline.
Reducing our products’ life cycle GHG 15% by 2015 from a 2007 baseline. (In 2009,
we engineered a 32% drop in GHG emissions per case of product.)
Obtaining a 100% renewable energy supply for our headquarters, which we hope to
achieve via roof-top solar panels.
Reducing solid wastes from our products and their packaging 25% by 2015.
Assuring that 100% of our value chain water use is sustainable by 2020.
2009 Savings Statement
In 2009, the use of Seventh Generation products by our customers saved 117,000 trees, 42
million gallons of water, 167 billion BTUs of energy, and 1.2 million gallons of petroleum. Our
products also prevented 37,000 pounds of chlorine, 160,000 pounds of VOCs, 1.5 million
pounds of phosphates, and 5,300 pounds of chlorinated hydrocarbons from being released
into the environment.
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Setting New Industry Standards
Consumers have the right to know what makes our cleaning products safe for people and the
environment. That’s why we always offer a full disclosure of all the ingredients in each of our
cleaning products and explain the components of our feminine care, diaper, and paper
products. This pioneering industry shift is part of our commitment to give everyone the
highest confidence that they are making an informed choice when they choose Seventh
Generation products.
We’re also committed to creating revolutionary product packaging that meets the highest
possible standards of recyclability and sustainability. Examples of this include the world’s first
plastic product bottle made from a record-shattering 96% post-consumer waste; a
compostable and recyclable laundry liquid bottle made from 100% post-consumer paper
fibers, which uses 66% less plastic than is typical while delivering the same number of loads;
and paper towel plastic wrap made from at least 50% recycled industrial waste paper.
Recently, we also developed a plastic spray bottle head that contains no metal parts (which
prevent recycling) and instituted a “closed loop” take-back program for our #5 plastic
packaging, which we’ll collect and turn into new packaging.
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Seventh Generation Global Initiatives
Toxic Chemical Policy Reform
Americans assume that chemicals used to make ordinary products are tested for safety — but
often they are not. We’ve partnered with the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Coalition to
create the Million Baby Crawl campaign, which allows consumers to call on Congress to
strengthen federal laws regulating toxic chemicals used in products ranging from household
cleaners to baby bottles.
WAGES
Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES) builds cooperative worker-owned ecofriendly residential cleaning businesses in San Francisco, California. In 2009, WAGES and
Seventh Generation launched Home Green Home, WAGES' 4th cooperative. This unique social
enterprise provides healthy, dignified jobs for its women owners; wages that average 50%
higher than is typical; and health care and paid vacation benefits, which are unheard of in the
cleaning industry. We are working to expand this model beyond San Francisco and add 100
new WAGES worker/owners.
Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm kernel oil, which we use to make our plant-based cleaning agents, has the single biggest
environmental footprint of any of our raw materials. We’re the first cleaning products
company in North America to pay the producers of our palm kernel oil a premium (through
the purchase of sustainable palm kernel oil credits) that directly supports sustainability
practices. In addition, we have partnered with several organizations to support sustainability
and economic development in palm oil-producing communities.
Rethinking Laundry
Laundry is one of the most energy-intensive activities in our homes, and about 90% of this
energy footprint comes from heating water. By simply washing loads with cold water, we can
have a big impact on our energy use and carbon footprint. For that reason, we’ve designed our
laundry detergents to work in cold water and have partnered with Project Laundry List to help
spread the word about using cold water for washing and clotheslines or indoor racks for
drying.
Household Care Product Ingredient Disclosure
We were the first company in the household products industry to clearly print all of the
ingredients we use in plain language on each product's packaging. We believe all household
products should do the same and are working with the Breast Cancer Fund and other
advocates to support federal legislation that would require this.
Sustainability Education
We aspire to have an impact on the world by helping other businesses make sustainability and
social responsibility central to their purpose. We have partnered with Kaplan Eduneering to
develop a series of online education modules, called the Sustainability Institute, focused on
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
the business case for sustainability. The courses are being offered to companies large and
small around the world.
Save the Poles
Global climate change is our single biggest environmental threat. Seventh Generation is
working for passage of comprehensive national climate and energy policy. We are also
sponsoring renowned polar explorer Eric Larsen as he attempts the first-ever journey to the
North Pole, South Pole and summit of Mt. Everest in a continuous 365-day period to highlight
the impacts of climate change on these iconic landscapes.
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Marketing for a Cause
Working with Gifts In Kind International, we’ve
created a new campaign to distribute 10 million
Seventh Generation diapers to families in need.
Consumers who text the word “BABY” to 52000 will
make a one-time donation of $5, which we’ll use to
give impoverished children a better start in life. To
reach our goal, some two million text messages will need to be sent.
Laundry Revolution. Seventh Generation recently asked
consumers to take a seven day challenge where they wash their
clothes in cold water with Seventh Generation liquid laundry
detergent and line dry them on a clothesline or drying rack—
practices which can save almost 100% of the energy needed for
laundry. To-date, over 500 consumers have pledged to make the
switch to cold water washing and line-drying.
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
10% For a Better World
Seventh Generation dedicates 10% of its pretax operating profits to causes and organizations
focused on enhancing our community, improving its environment, supporting public health,
and working for responsible business change. In 2009, we donated $343,400 and over $92,000
worth of Seventh Generation products to worthy causes that include:
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The Whole Planet Foundation
The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
Sustainable Health Enterprise
The Committee on Temporary
Shelter
The Breast Cancer Fund
The Burlington School District
Champlain College Single Parent
Program
Flynn Center for the Performing
Arts
Dragonheart Vermont
First Descents
Friends Of the Arava Institute
Group for the East End
Heartbeet Lifesharing Corporation
The Hicks Foundation
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Informed Green Solutions
Intervale Center
King Street Youth Center
Peace & Justice Center
Planned Parenthood of Northern
New England
Putney School
ReSOURCE
Service Rendererd
The Shelburne Museum
Stowe Weekend of Hope
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy
Environments
University of Vermont
Vermont Commons School
WAGES
Women’s Rape Crisis Center
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Transforming Our Community
We strive to create a culture of inspirational service at Seventh Generation, one that allows us
to share our passions, skills and time with the people and organizations about which we care
deeply. In 2010, Seventh Generation employees donated 1,220 hours to our companysupported volunteer program. This community-enhancing work took place at a wide variety of
local agencies and projects, including:
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Camp Ta-Kum Ta
Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf
Cinderfella
Green Up Day
Habitat for Humanity
Lund Family Center
Sustainability Academy
Vermont Foodbank
Whole Planet Foundation
Transforming Our Industry
We are working with the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) to increase industry transparency
and safety. This work involves developing a new “Ingredient Central” section on the ACI web
site, where the group’s historically secretive member companies can voluntarily disclose their
products’ ingredients. Companies representing 90% of the consumer products in the market
participate. Seventh Generation Sustainability Director Martin Wolf serves as Chair of the ACI
Strategic Advisory Committee and vice-chair of the Sustainability Committee. In 2009, we
participated in ACI’s sustainability metrics project, which aggregated member-company
environmental data to create an industry-wide sustainability picture for the first time.
Transforming Business
As much as we’re in the business of selling laundry detergent and toilet paper, we’re also in
the business of transforming business. We seek to be a model for integrating sustainability
into a company’s mission.
We are founding members of the Sustainability Consortium, a collaboration among
consumer-goods companies, retailers, and academic institutions working to build a scientific
foundation for improving the sustainability of all stages of a product’s life cycle. Housed
jointly at the University of Arkansas and Arizona State University, the growing list of
participants includes Walmart, Safeway, Best Buy, Proctor & Gamble, Stonyfield Farm, General
Mills, the EPA, and the World Wildlife Fund.
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
We are a member of Business for Innovate Climate Energy Policy, which lobbies for strong
science-based legislation to tackle climate change.
It is our goal to directly influence 1,000 businesses through sustainability mentoring.
Conversations With Our Consumers
We are always seeking new ways to enhance our interactions with our consumers , and
increasingly, that means social media. We had fewer than 1,800 followers on social media sites
such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn at the beginning of 2009. Today, that
number hovers over 157,000. Our Seventh Generation Nation members more than doubled to
254,000 during 2009.
60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
tel 802 658 3773
fax 802 658 1771
Building a Better World at the Workplace
Policies such as providing comprehensive health insurance, coverage for unmarried and same
sex partners, company-paid education and training, flex-time, telecommuting, health club
membership, and energy-saving incentives are some of the ways we support our employees.
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All employees participate in an annual incentive program, which is based on company
results and individual contributions. All employees also participate in our equity
program and receive shares when hired and promoted.
Based on length of service with the company, we reimburse up to 80 percent of the
cost of educational tuition upon course completion if the course grade received is B- or
better.
We offer employees $1,000 per year to use for their personal and professional
development.
Employees receive up to $700 in annual reimbursements for fitness-related activities.
We have reimbursement programs for energy efficient home improvements and use of
public transportation.
Our business practice is focused on offering people avenues to express their idealism,
passion, and commitment to causes larger than themselves. We provide support to
employees while they pursue educational opportunities that contribute to personal and
professional growth.
All employees are issued a laptop computer to enable working from home as their
schedules and work demands allow.
Each full-time employee is offered 16 hours of paid time off per year to volunteer in
the community. We also sponsor 2-4 employees in national/international volunteer
efforts each year.
We provide employees with $5,000 car loans toward the purchase of hybrids and fuelefficient vehicles. The loans are forgivable after five years if the employee remains with
the company. In three years the program has issued $130,000 in loans, which have
helped purchase 26 vehicles and which saved about 15,000 gallons of gasoline in 2009.
Additional benefits include dental insurance, 401K contributions, life insurance,
parental leave, adoption expenses reimbursement, access to an online audio book
library, sabbatical leaves, and free Seventh Generation products.