Seventh Generation Inc.

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Seventh Generation, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryNatural household products
Founded1988; 36 years ago (1988)
FoundersJeffrey Hollender
Alan Newman
Headquarters
Burlington, Vermont
,
U.S.
Key people
Joey Bergstein, CEO and President
Jeffrey Hollender, Co-Founder
Alan Newman, Co-Founder
ProductsLaundry Detergent
Dish Soap
Personal care
Baby Diapers
Paper Products
Revenue$200 million (2015[1])
OwnerUnilever (2016−present)
Number of employees
170 (2015[1])
Websiteseventhgeneration.com

Seventh Generation, Inc. is an American company that sells eco-friendly cleaning, paper, and personal care products. Established in 1988, the Burlington, Vermont–based company distributes products to natural food stores, supermarkets, mass merchants, and online retailers. In 2016 Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever acquired Seventh Generation for an estimated $700 million.[2]

Seventh Generation focuses its marketing and product development on sustainability and the conservation of natural resources, using recycled and post-consumer materials in its packaging, and biodegradable, and plant-based phosphate- and chlorine-free ingredients in its products.

The company attributes the name "Seventh Generation" to the "Great Law of the Iroquois". The company says the document states, "in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."[3]

History

1988-1990

1988: Alan Newman acquires Renew America, a mail-order catalog that sells energy-, water- and resource-saving products. After giving the catalog a new look, an enhanced mix of products, and a new name – Seventh Generation – Newman embarks on a campaign to raise funding for the venture.[citation needed]

1989: Entrepreneur and author of How to Make the World a Better Place, Jeffrey Hollender joins Newman and helps secure much-needed capital. First-year sales of $100,000 grow to $7 million two years later.[citation needed]

1989: A mention in the New York Times increases orders seven-fold within a year.[4][citation needed]

1990: 500,000 people request catalog during 20th Anniversary Earth Day celebrations.[citation needed] Seventh Generation launches its own line of non-toxic and recycled household products.[citation needed]

1990:

  • First North American home care company to bring branded 100% recycled fiber paper products to the market.[citation needed]
  • First North American company to adopt totally chlorine-free processing for its baby and feminine care products. Move drives significant change in the industry around chlorine processing of fibers.[citation needed]

1991-2000

1992: Newman leaves Seventh Generation to start Magic Hat Brewing Company.[citation needed]

1993:

  • Seventh Generation goes public on 8 November 1993, raising $7 million.[citation needed] Dramatic growth in natural foods industry begins to fuel wholesale business.[citation needed]
  • In five years of business, company prevents 29,000 trees from being cut down, saves nearly 500 million gallons of water and keeps more than 33,000 cubic feet of solid waste out of the country's landfills.[citation needed]

1994: Seventh Generation enters the mass retail market with three products: dishwasher detergent, non-chlorine bleach, and liquid laundry detergent.[citation needed]

1995: Mail-order catalog business sold to Gaiam, Inc. and Seventh Generation focuses solely on its wholesale products business.[citation needed]

1998: Company begins expanding its retail reach.[citation needed]

1999: Bolstered by growing success,[citation needed] the company buys back all its stock.[citation needed]

2000: Sales grow nearly 32% per year, reaching $50 million over the next five years. True to its founding values, the company continues to give 10 percent of profits to nonprofit groups.[citation needed]

2001-2005

2001: The company successfully lobbies for the removal of phosphates from automatic dishwashing products.[citation needed]

2002: Seventh Generation sets standard of no VOCs in its home care products other than those naturally occurring in essential oils and botanical extracts.[citation needed]

2002: First home care company to specify and produce with low levels of 1,4 dioxane in its laundry and dish care products.[citation needed]

2004: First corporate responsibility report published. Transparency of report becomes key hallmark of company's position as a leader in the corporate responsibility movement.[citation needed]

2005: Seventh Generation has created more than 70 products and claims 45% of the total sales in the paper and plastic, cleaning, diaper, wipes and feminine hygiene categories, making them the leading seller of natural, non-toxic household products in the United States.[citation needed]

2006-2016

2006: Company moves to new LEED Gold-certified office on the shores of Lake Champlain.[citation needed]

2008:

  • First home care company to voluntarily disclose full ingredients on label.[citation needed]
  • Ends the industry norm of topping off surfactant supplies with formaldehyde.[citation needed]
  • Switches liquid laundry line to 2X concentrated formulas, claiming, "If every household used 100 oz. 2X concentrate instead of the regular liquid, in one year we would save 78,000 tons of plastic and 970,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions."[citation needed]

2009:

  • First North American home care company to commit to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).[citation needed]
  • Company sets industry standard by specifying no detectable levels of 1,4-dioxane in its raw materials.[citation needed] Identifies 1,4 dioxane as a cross-contaminant in sodium lauryl sulfate and works with several multibillion-dollar raw material suppliers to eliminate cross-contamination for the entire industry.[citation needed]
  • Jeffrey Hollender steps aside as CEO to focus company's long-term sustainability goals.[citation needed]
  • Former PepsiCo division president, Chuck Maniscalco joins company as CEO.[citation needed]

2010:

  • Board ends relationship with Jeffrey Hollender.[5]
  • Company claims $150 Million in annual revenues.[6]
  • Partnership with CleanWell™ results in Seventh Generation disinfecting cleaners that clean and deodorize with thymol, obtained from the common garden herb thyme.[citation needed]
  • National voluntary ban on phosphates in dishwasher detergents is implemented by members of the American Cleaning Institute (formerly the Soap and Detergent Association), a manufacturer's trade group representing most detergent companies.[7]
  • Chuck Maniscalco steps down as CEO.[citation needed] In 2011 John Replogle, former Burt's Bees CEO, takes over as president and CEO.[citation needed]

2011: First North American company to launch a bottle featuring a fully recyclable and compostable outer shell made from 70 percent recycled cardboard fibers and 30 percent old newspaper fibers, supporting a recyclable lightweight plastic pouch inside.[citation needed]

2012: Seventh Generation becomes the first consumer product goods company to feature the USDA Certified Biobased label.[citation needed]

2013:

  • The company celebrates its 25th Anniversary.
  • Seventh Generation purchases Bobble, a US company, founded in February 2012 by Move Collective LLC..[citation needed] Marketed internationally, Bobble portable, reusable water bottles filter water as it passes through the bottle's top.[citation needed] Bobble has won awards for design. It is Seventh Generation's first acquisition outside of the household, personal, and baby products arena.[8]

2016:

  • In September Unilever Plc. purchased Seventh Generation for an estimated $700 million.[9]

Awards

Seventh Generation has received multiple awards.[10][11]

  • 2004 Corporate Stewardship Award for Small Business from the United States Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate Citizenship. Award recipients were selected based on "a demonstration of ethical leadership and corporate stewardship, making a difference in their communities, and contributions to the advancement of important economic and social goals."[12][13]
  • Fastest Growing Company in Vermont - 5x5x5 Award from Vermont Business Magazine and KeyBank for "achievements in keeping true to its mission to create healthy products that preserve the environment, every year since 2004."[14]
  • Top 10 Responsible Brands in America 2004 – voted the 7th most responsible brand in America by the College Explorer study sponsored by Alloy Media & Marketing. The study utilized only write-in answers as opposed to multiple choices.[15]
  • Ceres-ACCA North American Awards for Sustainability Reporting - Best Small or Medium Enterprise Corporate Responsibility Report, April 2006 - the international competition was sponsored by Ceres (organization), a national network of investment funds, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working to advance environmental stewardship on the part of businesses, in partnership with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and CoVeris, an independent corporate verification firm. Ceres called Seventh Generation's report "a pioneering effort in transparency for a privately owned company."[16]
  • In 2007, Seventh Generation was named the second fastest growing company in Vermont over the past 10 years.[17]
  • Fast Company Social Capitalist Award 2007 – Fast Company magazine and Monitor Group.[18]
  • The Microsoft Excellence in Environmental Sustainability Award 2008 - Seventh Generation was recognized as a customer who is "using their business management system in an innovative way to track their initiatives around becoming more environmentally sustainable."[19]
  • In 2009, the IT department at Seventh Generation was named number eight in ComputerWorld's "Top Green-IT Organizations." ComputerWorld noted that Seventh Generation had "...moved workers from desktop PCs to more-energy-efficient laptops, and they buy laptops with EPEAT Gold certifications -- meaning they meet certain environmental standards -- rather than cheaper models." ComputerWorld added that Seventh Generation had "...also virtualized their servers, trimming the number from eight to three and halving energy consumption" among other green IT initiatives.[20]
  • In 2018, Seventh Generation was recognized as one of "the 50 most sustainable companies in the world" at the SEAL Business Sustainability Awards.[21]

People

  • Former CEO: John Replogle took over as president and CEO in February 2011,[22] taking over from Chuck Maniscalco, who had served in that position since June 2009[23] when Jeffrey Hollender stepped aside to become Executive Chairperson.[24] Hollender left the company in November 2010.[25] Joey Bergstein took over as CEO in 2017 as John Replogle stepped into the role of Chairman of the Seventh Generation Social Mission Board.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b O'Brien, Sara Ashley (19 September 2016). "Unilever goes green, buys Seventh Generation". CNN Money.
  2. ^ Saabira Chaudhuri and Sharon Terlep (19 September 2016). "Unilever Buys 'Green' Products Maker Seventh Generation". The Wall Street Journal.
  3. ^ "Profits with Purpose: Seventh Generation". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  4. ^ Andrew Nemethy (23 February 1989), "Ecologically Correct Catalogue", The New York Times
  5. ^ "Leadership Changes". Archived from the original on 6 November 2011.
  6. ^ "HAPPI". HAPPI. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  7. ^ Contact Name: Jon Scott (28 June 2010). "Detergent Industry's Voluntary Phosphate Ban: Good News for Water, but A Long Time Coming". Clean Water Action. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Seventh Generation Picks Up Bobble Brand". The Wall Street Journal. 30 May 2013.
  9. ^ TERLEP, SHARON; CHAUDHURI, SAABIRA (19 September 2016). "Unilever Buys 'Green' Products Maker Seventh Generation". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  10. ^ Company News - Functional Ingredients Magazine
  11. ^ The First National Conference on Precaution[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ [1] Archived 15 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Alliance for Sustainability - Previous Events: First Annual Sustainability Awards
  14. ^ "The 5x5x5 Growth Awards: Service/Retail - Seventh Generation - North America > United States from AllBusiness.com". allbusiness.com.
  15. ^ "Home HarrisPoll - The Harris Poll" (PDF). www.harrisinteractive.com.
  16. ^ Nike, HP Win Top Honors in Ceres/ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards | GreenBiz.com Archived 28 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Old vs. new". reformer.com.
  18. ^ "The 2008 Social Capitalist Awards - Fast Company". fastcompany.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008.
  19. ^ "Convergence 2008 - Orlando - Customer Excellence". microsoft.com.
  20. ^ Mary K. Pratt (20 April 2009). "Seventh Generation". Computerworld. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  21. ^ "Most Sustainable Companies Honored At 2018 SEAL Awards". SEAL Awards. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  22. ^ "Seventh Generation Names John Replogle to Serve as CEO and President". 9 February 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  23. ^ "Taking the Wheel and Riding On". Seventh Generation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  24. ^ "Big Changes at". Seventh Generation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  25. ^ "Important Announcement from". Seventh Generation. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2013.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seventh_Generation_Inc.&oldid=966425411"