A while back, Seventh Generation sent me some green-cleaning products to review. I’ve already reviewed their toilet bowl cleaner and I’ll be posting more reviews soon, but thought that it’d be easier to first take a look at the company as a whole; check out some of their eco-pros and cons.

BASICS: Seventh Generation has been around for about 20 years and is arguably one of the most well-known green companies on the consumer market. They were one of the first self-declared “socially responsible” companies and they manufacture many eco-friendly products. Some of their products are very green and some could be greener, but all in all, they offer a good variety of green product choices for eco-friendly households. Seventh Generation product categories include…

• Laundry Products
• Dishwashing Products
• Household Cleaners
• Household Paper & Supplies
• Products for Baby
• Feminine Care
• Free & Clear cleaning products
• Their newest products are a line of EPA registered disinfectants that kill germs naturally.

COMPANY PERKS:

• Seventh Generation notes that they’re committed to helping consumers make informed choices and I’d say that they’re doing a good job in this area. They fully disclose all ingredients at their website and on their packaging plus offer MSDS sheets. If you want to know what’s in your Seventh Generation cleaner, they make it ultra easy to find out, unlike some eco-companies.
• Some of their packaging is made with recycled content (2 bottles (18%) are 75% PCR; remainder are 25% PCR; 1/3 of our boxes are 100% PCR; remainder are 30–40% PCR). Almost all their packaging is easily recycled and they disclose
• They donate 10% of profits to non-profit community, environmental, health, and responsible business organizations working for positive change.
• They recently eliminated synthetics in all fragrances.
• They make non-toxic products with zero chlorine bleach, phosphates, dyes, NTA or EDTA.
• Because the company makes recycled paper products and less toxic goods they’re helping save trees, water, petroleum, and energy.
• Zero animal testing.
• They have green corporate office policies in place – for example using recycle paper and recycling.

One of the best perks about Seventh Generation is that this is actually a green company that works. By works I mean that there are plenty of green companies around that I personally like, however, a green company is only as good as their outreach to consumers. If your average consumer can’t locate products or can’t learn more about a company then they won’t buy those green products from said company. Consumers will buy what they know about and what’s available. Since many green companies lack marketing skills consumers may end up purchasing non-green, toxic products.

Seventh Generation has worked hard to build up their company. The average consumer can locate Seventh Generation products at many local stores and online. The company promotes their products and have actually built up a successful green brand, which is something I wish more green companies would work on. They’re also affordable and offer coupons often.

COMPANY CONS:

• They make disposable diapers that do not biodegrade. They also make diapers with SAP which is a questionable ingredient in green debates right now – it might be ok but maybe not. Their baby wipes also do not biodegrade.
• There’s non-biodegradable synthetic polymer in their auto dish powder and gel.
• While their cleaners are less toxic than many conventional cleaners out there, you’ve still got that new bottle to recycle. It’s still more eco-friendly to make your own cleaners, although, of course some people will always want to simply purchase cleaning supplies.
• They use plastic backing on their feminine care products; plastic, which yes, is made out of oil.
• Some cleaning products could be improved – for example, I’ve tried a few green liquid dishwasher detergents that clean better than Seventh Generation’s liquid brand.

OVERALL SCORE:

3.5 trees out of 5. Seventh Generation is a pretty good green company in my opinion with many products that work well. They also have some products that don’t work as well as homemade green cleaners and they could make some eco-improvements say, with their disposable diapers. However, I do love their disclosures and the fact that they’re continually setting and meeting new eco-goals. Stick around for some product specific reviews coming up.

LEARN MORE:

• Follow Seventh Generation on Twitter.
• Join them on Facebook.
• Read their blog.
• Read their latest corporate responsibility report online (flash) or get the report in pdf.

Review summary: An excellent toilet bowl cleaner with few negatives – find out why this is one of the RARE green cleaning products I’d suggest buying over making a homemade version yourself.

Product: Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Emerald Cypress & Fir Scent from Seventh Generation

Use: As you might have guessed this toilet bowl cleaner, is surprise, used for cleaning your toilet. Shocking I know. The perk is that this product manages to clean and deodorize without the harsh fumes, harmful chemicals, or dyes that are found in most other toilet cleaners.

Cost: The best deal I’ve seen online is to buy Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner in bulk at Amazon which works out to about $4 per 32 oz. bottle. It’s usually a little more costly at my local grocery store although it does go on sale from time to time. Seventh Generation also offers coupons at their website.

Ingredients: Aqua (water), lactic acid (plant-derived demineralizer), polyglucose, coceth-7, coceth-4 and deceth-5 (plant-derived cleaning agents), xanthan gum (natural thickener), peg-15 cocomonium chloride (plant-containing cleaning agent)*, essential oils and botanical extracts** (citrus aurantifolia (lime), abies balsamea (balsam fir), calilistris columellaris (emerald cypress).

Eco-perks:

• Non-toxic & biodegradable
• Does not create harsh fumes
• Safe for septic & greywater systems
• Not tested on animals
• Kosher-certified
• Bottle is recyclable and they place a “Please recycle reminder” on the bottle.

What I think:

To be honest, I’ve bought very few Seventh Generation products with my own cold hard cash. I LOVE testing products out for reviews, because I know many people won’t take the time to make their own homemade cleaners, so I want to recommend good products for these folks.

However, I do like to make homemade cleaners so buying cleaning products isn’t something I do much. Most of the time the cleaning products I review are sent to me free of charge from the company. Usually even if I like them, my brain thinks hmmmm, I could make this myself, I won’t be buying it.

Now, the above said, of all the home cleaning products I’ve reviewed, this toilet bowl cleaner is one of the very few that I have actually bought once the test sample ran out – with my own money. This cleaner is just that good.

The test run:

I cleaned two toilets in my first test run; one with this Seventh Generation toilet cleaner and one with the homemade cleaner I usually use – baking soda and lemon juice. In both cases I let the cleaners sit for a few minutes before scrubbing.

After cleaning both toilets smelled fresh. However, the  Seventh Generation toilet was far shiner and cleaner looking plus I didn’t have to scrub as much. This cleaner works crazy fast. Additionally, the Seventh Generation cleaned toilet stayed clean longer, smelled better longer, and there was no baking soda spilled on the floor to clean up (which usually happens).

Why I’ll buy this again…

• As noted above it works awesome. I’m not usually overly impressed with store-bought green cleaners, but this one rocks.
• I LOVE the scent, which is clean and fresh, but not at all chemical or perfume-like. I haven’t tried too many green toilet bowl cleaners, but the few I have tried (besides this one) still smelled kind of chemical to me. This scent is very pine-minded and clean.
• The bottle is well made with a small squeeze spout that gets the cleaner under the toilet rim easily.
• Lastly a 32 oz. bottle lasts you a good long while.

Were there any negatives?

• As with any store bought green cleaner, the biggest downside is packaging. If you make your own cleaners at home you lose this negative. I think Seventh Generation should sell a bulk size or a concentrated mix-your-own size to cut down on packaging.
• More expensive than homemade green toilet bowl cleaner (i.e. lemons and baking soda).
• I’m worried the scent might be too much for people who are scent sensitive. I loved the smell and didn’t find it overwhelming, but it’s noticeable, so I’d be careful if you’re a scent-free lovin’ type.

Overall score:

Four and 1/2 out of five happy little trees!

The bottle is an issue for me. One, I wish they had a bulk size. Even though the bottle is recyclable, it’s still a drain on resources. That said, I’ve bought this with my own money, which almost never happens if there’s a homemade option and I’m sure I’ll buy it again. It’s one of those rare instances where I’m going to recommend a store-bought cleaning product as better than homemade.

Helpful links…

• Learn more at Seventh Generation: Emerald Cypress & Fir Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Buy at Amazon: Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Emerald Cypress & Fir Scent, 32-Ounces Bottle

See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.