The Nappy Shop - Seventh Gen Extended Info 2

Why does Seventh Generation use preservatives in its products?
Most household cleaning products – both natural and conventional – utilize a preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and fungi in the product. If some of our products did not contain a preservative, they would become rancid.

Do all Seventh Generation products contain a preservative?
No. Some Seventh Generation products do not require a preservative. Seventh Generation Laundry Powder and Automatic Dishwasher Powder do not contain water so microbes can not grow in them. Seventh Generation Carpet Spot & Stain Remover, Kitchen Cleaner, and Shower Cleaner contain hydrogen peroxide that destroys microbes and act as the preservative. Seventh Generation’s Toilet Bowl Cleaner and Automatic Dishwasher Gel also do not require a preservative. Seventh Generation Dishwashing Liquid, Concentrated Laundry Liquid, Fabric Softener, All Purpose Cleaner, and Glass Cleaner do require a preservative.

What preservative does Seventh Generation use?
In our cleaning products that require a preservative, we currently use hexahydro-1,3,5-tris (2-hydroxyethyl)-s-triazine, “THT” for short. We use this preservative at less than 0.05%.
Why was this preservative selected for use?

Before choosing THT, Seventh Generation evaluated many different preservatives. Factors that went into our evaluation were efficacy, acute human toxicity, chronic human toxicity, irritancy, sensitization (allergenicity), biodegradability, acute aquatic toxicity, and bioaccumulation potential. THT is an effective preservative and has a better human toxicity and environmental profile than many other preservatives. Hence it was selected for use in our products.
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Is this preservative natural?
No. We are investigating alternative preservatives, including natural preservatives, but we do not anticipate having a natural preservative available in the near future. In addition to being synthetic, THT releases minute amounts of formaldehyde over time. This is how it controls microorganisms. The amount of formaldehyde released is far below the standards set by the Food and Drug Administration for formaldehyde in cosmetic products, and below levels naturally found in many fruits and vegetables.

What are we doing to replace this preservative?
Seventh Generation is presently evaluating alternative preservatives for use in our products. We anticipate transitioning to a product that will not release any formaldehyde toward the end of 2008. None of the preservatives we are testing at this time are natural because no natural preservative we have evaluated is safe and effective in our products.

After we replace THT in all preserved Seventh Generation products, we will continue our search for a natural preservative.

Why don’t we list this preservative on our labels?
Seventh Generation is printing new labels for its cleaning products to more fully disclose all our ingredients. Because we will likely be changing the preservative we use before the end of the 2008, we decided to print the labels with the functional term “Preservative” and describe the preservative we are using on our website. When the transition to the new preservative is complete, we will change our website and our labels.