Scrub a Dub Dub..

I am turning into an eco conscious person. It didn't really hit me until yesterday when Bill and I ran to the store for hand dish soap and dishwasher soap. (I don't know what else to call them, so I hope you know what I am talking about: Palmolive vs Cascade...) But although I have always been concerned about cleaning up trash from the roads, since becoming a parent I have started becoming concerned with the chemicals I use.

Anywho, as I started reaching for the Cascade, my eyes feel on Seventh Generation. I had heard a lot about it from some of my favorite bloggers out there, but had never actually seen it sold in any of the grocery stores near my home. Thus, I didn't really think about it anymore.

But yesterday, as my eyes fell on a wide range of Seventh Generation products, all the good things I had heard came flooding back. So I put down the Cascade, and picked up Seventh Generation's dishwasher soap.

And I have to say, I am VERY impressed, not only did it get my dishes just as clean as Cascade ever did, but ALL the ingredients are listed, along with explanations of what they are for:

Aqua (water), sodium silicate (protection agent and alkalinity builder), sodium polyacrylate, sodium citrate and sodium carbonate (water softeners), ppg-6 C12-15 pareth-12 (cleaning agent), xanthan gum (thickener), essential oils and botanical extracts* (medica limonum peel (lemon) and citrus aurantifolia (lime)). *d-Limonene is a component of these essential oils.

Our Phosphate- and Chlorine-Free Automatic Dishwasher Gel gets your dishes sparkling clean. Chlorine-free and phosphate-free (to help prevent algae blooms).

So I am impressed. And you know what else? Once per ounce, Seventh Generation dishwashing liquid was cheaper than Cascade (at lease at the Win-Dixie near our Alabama home). Cascade was 9.90 cents per ounce, Seventh Generation was 9.50 cents per ounce. The Laundry detergent was more expensive, at 13.1 cents per ounce vs. the store brand I usually get at 9.1 cents per ounce. I have not tried the laundry detergent yet; however, I will be. Even at the extra cost, it seems worth it because of this list:


* Non-toxic and biodegradable
* Hypo-allergenic
* Free of phosphates & optical brighteners
* No enzymes
* Safe for septic & greywater systems
* Not tested on animals
* Kosher-certified

Non-toxic? Biodegradable? Free of phospahtes? I'm sold. And for the concerned parent in me, this little tid-bit that I found on all their products in the Win-Dixie (Yes, I stood there looking and reading all about all the products, then comparing them to all the products I usually use...Bill was getting annoyed with our "quick stop for soap" turning into a marathon of reading..)gave me a piece of mind should our little Houdini channeling Toddler decide to stack chairs in the pantry and get to the cleaners:

From the Dishwashing Gel:
"Please keep all cleaning products out of the reach of children. Seventh Generation products, although not intended for consumption, aren't poisonous...."

And looking around on their website, you can print out coupons for their products when you register AND there is one for a $1 off laundry detergent. NICE.

You know what else I love? Their mission statement:

"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations-From the Great Law of The Iroquois Confederacy"

I think this Mama has found a new way to clean my home, and without the worry of causing fumes to build up in the bathroom as I scrub soap scum away. For once, I am excited to clean.