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As the world tries to get more environmentally friendly, many of us are trying our best to clean up and green up our little corner of the world.
To be honest, when I was pregnant with my three, I didn’t give much thought to the types of supplies I was using – as long as they got things relatively clean. Now, I’m much more aware of what I’m using and I’m trying to find supplies that are not only less toxic, but are friendly to the environment.
Recently, I was sent some cleaning supplies from Seventh Generation. According to their website, “The company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Every time you use a Seventh Generation product you are making a difference by saving natural resources, reducing pollution, keeping toxic chemicals out of the environment and making the world a safer place for this and the next seven generations.”
The company not only produces cleaning products, but other supplies such as toilet tissue and facial wipes. There is also a line of baby products, from chlorine-free diapers to baby wipes.
I received five cleaning products to try: the wild orange and spice kitchen cleaner, emerald cypress and fir tub and tile cleaner, natural all-purpose cleaner, the lavender dishwashing liquid, and the toilet bowl cleaner. I’ve not yet tried the toilet bowl cleaner but I have tried the other products.
I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how good they would be. And, being sensitive to scents, I was a bit nervous about how strong or cloying they would be. I had nothing to worry about in either case.
Observations:
- the packaging is strong and the caps are easy to open and close – this is a big thing for me as I hate fighting with caps.
- the products clean as one would expect as with any other product
- scents are light and pleasing
- the products don’t leave any streaks or gritty feeling behind
- you do need a bit more elbow grease than with the traditional cleaners, but not overly so. If a stain was persistent, I would spray the cleaner on and leave it for a few minutes before tackling it again.
Where to buy:
There’s a tab on their website where you enter your zip code (United States) or postal code (Canada) to find the closest retailer that carries their products. I checked and there are 5 retailers within 20 miles of my home in Montreal. If you can’t shop in person, their products are available on-line as well. Some retailers, like Amazon.com, sell them in bulk.
From what I can tell, their prices are reasonable, on par with most products in the category.
Seventh Generation has generously offered a Living Home Starter kit to offer as a prize to the readers and visitors to Womb Within. After seeing what’s in the kit, I’m jealous!
Living Home Starter Kit: A selection of our most popular household cleaners to take care of your home from kitchen to bathroom and everywhere in-between. All products are gently scented with whole and natural plant essences, specifically designed for each room of your home. This kit also makes a great baby shower gift. $39.99 Includes:
- Ruby Grapefruit & Herb Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner
- Green Mandarin & Leaf Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
- Emerald Cypress & Fir Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- Natural Citrus Scent Shower Cleaner
- Tub & Tile Cleaner
- 2 rolls of Natural Paper Towels
- Seventh Generation tote
So, what do you need to do to win? I’m giving you several ways and you can do more than one. Here’s what you can do:
- Leave a comment below with your own “green tip.” I will gather all the tips into a new post, with links to your blogs or site if you have one.
- Subscribe to the RSS feed and send me an email telling me that you have.
- If you use Stumble, stumble your favorite post in this blog. Ditto with Digg.
- Email me a tip that I can put in the tip post that will come after the contest.
Don’t forget, that with the perpetual comment contest (info in sidebar), all comments are also automatically in for the monthly give away.
Now – to be sure you get your prize if you’re the lucky one – I MUST have a way to contact you. I’ve run a few contests on Help My Hurt and one earlier one here, but sometimes I can’t get hold of the winner because they don’t leave an email address or a website that I can go to. When you leave a comment, please be reassured that your email does NOT get put on the site.
All entries will be given a number as they come in. The numbers will be plugged into an online randomizer to choose the winner.
Good luck! The contest will end at 11:59 PM EST on June 19th.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
To choose the winner, I took all the qualifying comments and entered them into a randomizer program and now, without further ado….. the winner is….Shumyla who left the following comment on June 10: The most common-sense thing ever: Bring your own container to restaurants. That way you aren’t taking polystyrene (Styrofoam) containers home, which don’t biodegrade. At the same time, you’re also reducing the garbage generated by your home.
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Image: Seventh Generation
1401 days ago
[...] winner of the Seventh Generation products since I couldn’t get hold of the original winner (Keeping clean and green during pregnancy (and beyond) – a review and a contest). Reminder: if you enter a contest here or at Help My Hurt, be sure I can get hold of you! Check [...]
1420 days ago
[...] At the beginning of the month, I posted a piece called Keeping clean and green during pregnancy (and beyond) – a review and a contest. [...]
1420 days ago
[...] when I was pregnant with my three, I didn??t give much thought to the types of supplies I washttp://www.wombwithin.com/2008/06/05/keeping-clean-and-green-during-pregnancy-and-beyond-a-review-an…Health survey by Statistics Canada suggests 15.7 per cent of Fredericton health region is obese [...]
OOH! I would love to win this!
My green tip is to resolve to buy only what you need. REDUCE, reuse, and recycle.
Most of us buy out of habit…and half the stuff we buy we don’t really even want or need.
Buy less, buy better–quality over quantity!
Check out my blog on sustainable fashion and beauty! http://www.evolvedfashion.com
We Re-cycle and re-use just about everything we can. Even the plastic lids off of nut cans, margarine tubs, etc. I use as mini disposable cutting boards
Stumbled & Subscribed
My green tip is to use rags or old kitchen towels instead of paper towels!
My green tips:
- Always, always have canvas or other bags in the car. You never know when you might need to run into the store for a few small things.
- Use a towel instead of paper towels for after washing hands.
WIN WIN WIN!!!
My green tip is purchase or make your own barrel for collecting rainwater.
My tip is grow at least some of your own food.
Natural cleansers like vinegar and baking soda do a great job without harming the planet. The scent leaves much to be desired! Thanks for the chance to win!
I carry a canvas bag with me when I go grocery shopping.
* * I make a point to recycle * *
Oh I love the Seventh Generation laundry soap, but can’t find any of their other products in my tiny town!
My green tip would be to try the “no trash” lunch plan. Our family takes 4 “sack” lunches a day, and my using reusable containers, insulated lunch bags, our own silverware, and reusable sandwich wrappers, we’ve eliminated all garbage from our daily lunches. Sure, you gotta teach kids (and a husband) the responsibility of washing out a container when they get home, but you’re both saving money and reducing your families carbon footprint! A win-win situation for everyone!
I reuse my pickle and mayo jars and yogurt cups – the yogurt cups are great for seedlings, and the jars make nice drinking glasses.
Instead of buying wrapping paper, use the comics from your newspaper to wrap presents.
Unplug items (don’t just shut off) that you are not. This is especially true for charging cell phones all the time. Only charge them when they need them.
Don’t know what to do with all that Styrofoam that came in that last item you purchased? Or the left over cups and plates from the last picnic gathering? (rinse those first though!)
Keep it as packing – how many times have you needed to pack something for shipping and found you had nothing on hand? Break down large lumps of Styrofoam into smaller chunks and keep a bag of it handy
We don’t have the smallest carbon footprint, but we are trying where we can. One of the biggies is trying to get things with as little packaging as possible- from buying large sizes and putting into smaller reusable containers to using canvas bags- we are trying. We even started packing the girls sandwiches and such in little keepers that they bring home and wash out instead of baggies.
Not always easy, but we are getting better.
my green tip: if you save coke cans already, get your little ones involved too. My little girls take the tabs off the top and save them in a recycled water gallon. They feel so proud when THEY have filled it and they feel like they’ve done something very important (which they have) in saving the earth.
Great giveaway…love the sound of the window and surface cleaner, I so want to try each and every one of them!!!