Featured image for Seventh Generation Introduces Cleaning Products In Steel Tins

Seventh Generation Introduces Cleaning Products In Steel Tins

by Rudy Sanchez on 08/24/2020 | 2 Minute Read

Household cleaning brand Seventh Generation is commonly known for its planet-friendly formulations, making detergents and cleansers void of chemicals and ingredients harsh to users and the environment. The Unilever-owned brand has been working on making their packaging more sustainable as well, but have recently concluded that even the best of plastics will not be recycled or collected and end up in the environment, literally for centuries as it breaks down. 

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Because of this, they have now debuted a range of plastic-free products packaged in steel tins.

“What we realized is that we really need to take action and move as a business away from plastic, because as good as the plastic is or as little you use, recycling alone will never solve the problem,” Seventh Generation CEO Joey Bergstein told Fast Company.

The newest range, Zero Plastic Homecare, is packaged in steel cylinder-shaped tins and contains 25% recycled material. According to Seventh Generation, they chose steel because of its relatively high recycled rate, about 75%, and, unlike plastic, it is infinitely recyclable. The steel tins can also get repurposed as part of a future refillable program, or reused for something else by the consumer.

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In order to be plastic-free, Seventh Generation had to tinker with their products so they could store them in the new tins. Rather than packaging their cleansers in liquid form, the brand reformulated them as dry and powdered cleaners, negating the need for durable, lightweight plastic bottles. Some added advantages are that, in powdered form, the consumer has more flexibility in the strength and application of the detergents. The powdered products can also get applied directly to a towel or mixed into a solution at home.

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Another advantage for the planet is the savings in fuel consumption. In powdered form, the new products are more compact and weigh less than liquids and gels, plus the reduced fuel consumption also means less greenhouse gas emissions emitted during transportation and distribution.

Seventh Generation’s new Zero Plastic Homecare will debut at Grove Collaborative, which calls themselves plastic-neutral; for every ounce of plastic Grove sells, it collects and recycles an ounce of plastic pollution, and they aim to be plastic-free by 2025.

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