12.06.2004 ET

(CSRwire) BURLINGTON, VT - Seventh Generation received the Corporate Stewardship Award for Small Business from the United States Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate Citizenship Thursday evening December 2nd. The selection committee was Chaired by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School.

Award recipients are selected after a rigorous evaluation, 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.

"Picture this," said Seventh Generation President Jeffrey Hollender. "I'm two blocks from the White House, at International Headquarters of the US Chamber of Commerce, on my right is the outgoing Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans. On my left Raymond Gilmartin, President & CEO of the Merck & Co., scattered around the table are Robert Nardelli, President of Home Depot, the CFO of Office Depot and the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. I think to my self - what am I doing here?"

Hollender continued, "We live in a world of increasingly widespread social and environmental disruption. Business must play the leadership role in confronting problems that our government in unwilling and unable to solve. In order for business to meet this challenge and become a force of positive change - accountability, transparency, and values based leadership must be embraced. Our only true peril we face is losing sight of our own potential to make a difference."

During 2004, Seventh Generation published its first corporate responsibility (CR) report, (www.seventhgeneration.com/page.asp?id=1437) reiterating the steadfast belief that companies' social and environmental responsibility matters to stakeholders as much as financial results. The company was singled out for a number of other awards in 2004, including the 5x5x5 award as one of Vermont's fastest growing businesses, the Fast Company Fast 50 and the Sustainability Award from the Minnesota Alliance for Sustainability.

About Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation, located in Burlington, Vermont, is the nation's leading brand of non-toxic and environmentally preferable household products. With distribution in thousands of natural product and grocery stores nationwide, Seventh Generation is a trusted source for products that protect people's health and the planet. They derive their 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."

For seventeen years, Seventh Generation-one of the country's first self-declared "socially responsible" companies-has been at the forefront of a wave of change. Seventh Generation is a business operated according to a new and different set of principles, values that in many ways are a marked departure from those long considered "traditional." The Company is focused on offering people avenues not to express their greed and ambition but their idealism, passion, and commitment to causes larger than themselves. Seventh Generation promotes this approach to doing business not only among its staff but at every point along our supply chain from our suppliers and partners to our shareholders and customers.

Seventh Generation brand name products include: paper towels, bathroom and facial tissue, and napkins and paper plates made from 100% recycled fiber and manufactured without the use of chlorine; cleaning and laundry products that are vegetable based, phosphate free and biodegradable; chlorine-free, natural lotion baby wipes and diapers; and plastic trash bags made from recycled plastic. Seventh Generation markets and distributes through natural food stores, supermarkets, on-line and in mail-order catalogs in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.seventhgeneration.com.

About The Center for Corporate Citizenship
The Center for Corporate Citizenship is a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber that serves as a resource and voice for businesses and their social, philanthropic and ethical concerns. The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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