10.22.2007 - 01:41pm ET

(CSRwire) BURLINGTON, VT - October 22, 2007 - Seventh Generation, the nation's leading brand of non-toxic, environmentally-safe household and personal care products and a pioneer of socially and environmentally responsible business practices, has announced the release of its Corporate Responsibility (CR) Report for fiscal year 2006.

The new document outlines the latest strides the company has taken toward its long term environmental, supply chain, social, and economic sustainability goals and provides a look forward at its future plans and objectives.

In introducing this year's report, company CEO Jeffrey Hollender writes, "There is more interest and possibility than ever before for corporate responsibility to have the kind of positive impact on society that we have always hoped it would have. Seizing this opportunity will require an honest assessment of where our efforts have fallen short, and it will require the development of a holistic plan to improve on that record as we move forward. Pictures of smiling faces and pristine rivers in ads and on product labels won't get us there. Only a humble, honest and self-critical perspective can increase the likelihood of a brighter future for us all.

"We are committed to providing the leadership that this process needs to achieve its final promise. That leadership will be born of our ability to critically reflect on our own progress, to build the consciousness necessary to see the world as a single whole of infinitely interconnected wonder, and to grow ourselves to our full potential. That is what it will take to surmount what is without question the gravest and most essential challenge humanity has ever faced. And that is what we intend to do."

A vital part of this mission, Seventh Generation's new report follows a format the company established last year called "GRI Light." Based on CR reporting standards established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for large businesses, this new framework adapts GRI requirements to the needs of smaller organizations. The result more accurately reflects the unique challenges small companies face and better reflects their progress toward meaningful sustainability.

In the case of Seventh Generation, that progress includes:

Increasing female representation at both middle and senior management levels.

In addition to measuring the company's forward movement on these and other crucial pathways, the new report also outlines areas in which improvements are needed and provides a look at future plans to achieve them. These include identifying natural-based ingredients to replace the few remaining synthetics in product formulas; sourcing sustainably produced palm oil for the company's surfactants; increasing the post-consumer recycled content of its packaging; implementing a community volunteer program; and dramatically reducing the carbon footprints of its employees, suppliers, and operations.

Seventh Generation's 2006 Corporate Responsibility Report is now available on-line at http://www.seventhgeneration.com/about_us/corporate_responsibility.php. As part of the company's transparency initiative, Jeffrey Hollender is inviting readers to share their thoughts on both the new report and the efforts it outlines by sending their feedback to him via email at responsibility@seventhgeneration.com. Visitors to the Seventh Generation web site can also explore the company's CR programs via occasional articles published in its free electronic newsletter, the Non-Toxic Times, and on it's blog, the Inspired Protagonist at http://www.inspiredprotagonist.com.

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." 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.

For information on Seventh Generation cleaning, paper, baby and feminine personal care products and to find store locations, visit www.seventhgeneration.com.

For more information please contact:

Chrystie Heimert
802-658-3773 x620
www.seventhgeneration.com

For more CSR news and information from this organization:

Corporate Social Responsibility Profile for Seventh Generation

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