4.14.2007 - 09:38am ET

(CSRwire) BURLINGTON, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2007--Ready. Set. Grow! To celebrate Earth Day 2007, Seventh Generation, the nation's leading provider of non-toxic, environmentally safe household products, is asking you to help grow an urban forest in New Orleans by planting a virtual tree at www.onetontree.com. The initiative, named "One Ton Tree" to represent the amount of CO2 an average tree will remove from the atmosphere in its lifetime, is a partnership between Seventh Generation, the Seed Collective, and Replant New Orleans to help support urban reforestation. It is the story of how one little tree can make a ton of difference.

Designed as a fundraising and educational tool for reforestation endeavors, the One Ton Tree project is initiated by cell phone through the Seed Collective's wireless interface tool located at www.onetontree.com. Originally developed for use at large, public gatherings the novel technology is being made available for the first time via personal computers for this initiative. The tool allows participants to create a virtual forest that will help fund the planting and care of real trees and supportive plants in New Orleans, a city whose flora was devastated during Hurricane Katrina.

By dialing the on-screen One Ton Tree number, participants become "virtual gardeners" and are given a "seed" to grow a unique tree on their computer screens. Using their cell phone keypads, visitors can grow their seeds, choose the type of trees to plant and change their texture and color. Adding purple leaves and wavy branches allows visitors to create a tree as colorful and vibrant as New Orleans itself.

Every virtual tree can make a real difference in New Orleans' Central City neighborhood on Earth Day, April 22, 2007. For each of the first 40,000 virtual trees "planted," Seventh Generation will donate $1 to Replant New Orleans, whose volunteers will plant trees along with complementary shrubs, grass, flowers and vegetables. The $40,000 grant will also enable ongoing soil testing, educational outreach, organizational staff salaries and support for the 5,200 volunteer hours expected to keep the new forests and gardens healthy through Earth Day 2008.

"With the help of organizations like Seventh Generation and the Seed Collective, we're making strides this Earth Day toward our goals of bringing healthy, sustainable soils and lush, urban forests back to New Orleans," said Hillary Strobel, executive director of Replant New Orleans. "Because of extensive, prolonged flooding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, elevated levels of toxins have been found in New Orleans' soil on a city-wide level and the One Ton Tree program will raise awareness of and take positive action toward rebuilding our ecosystem here - an ecosystem that lost 50,000 trees to the storm."

Planting trees in urban settings can help with beautification efforts and CO2 emission reduction, certainly, but creating vibrant urban food forests can help the environment of a community even more. Urban food forests include multiple levels of food producing plants, including fruit and nut trees, ground vegetables, fruiting shrubs and edible flowers. Two urban food forests will be planted in Central City on Earth Day that will be capable of providing sustenance for both animals and people. Additional tree plantings will take place at privately-owned properties to contribute to the city's reforestation efforts.

About Seventh Generation

Seventh Generation is committed to becoming the world's most trusted brand of authentic, safe, and environmentally responsible products for a healthy home. For nearly 20 years, the closely held Burlington, Vermont company has been at the forefront of a cultural change in consumer behavior and business ethics. One of the country's first self-declared "socially responsible" companies, Seventh Generation is a business that operates according to a new and different set of principles and values that in many ways are a marked departure from those long considered "traditional." For information on Seventh Generation cleaning, paper, baby and feminine personal care products and to find store locations, visit www.seventhgeneration.com.

About Replant New Orleans

Replant New Orleans is a local non-profit dedicated to restoring greenery lost in Katrina. They make sure to provide the resources necessary for residents to establish green spaces in their neighborhoods again. Replant New Orleans offers trees, planting assistance, and educational resources for free so that everyone has the option to live in a healthy and beautiful environment. For more information please visit www.replantneworleans.org.

About Seed Collective

The Seed Collective (SEED) uses wireless activism as a reforestation-funding tool and a way in which individuals can learn about the urban forest and its benefits. This reforestation tool, initiated by cell phone interactions, invites participants to create a virtual tree. SEED explores the convergence of rich media and wireless technology in the creation of a collaborative and evolving work of art. Through sound and imagery users create and populate a forest together. To learn more about SEED, visit www.seedcollective.org.

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