The Seventh Generation motto (and the inspiration behind the name) is that the company wants to “To inspire a revolution that nurtures the health of the next seven generations”……..starting with the one you just created – your baby.

Ever since I was pregnant with my son, I became more aware (and more concerned) about the ingredients in the soaps, lotions, and makeup I was using, and food I was eating. What ingredients that are in products now, were not in products when I was growing up. So the argument by my Mom that “I used XYZ and you were fine”, doesn’t really fly, in my opinion. Which is why I have been personally using Seventh Generation products since my first child was born three years ago.

Since then, the ‘organic’ market has exploded with a variety of products to provide safer, less toxic ingredients for our beauty routines, including the routines for our babies, due to the changes in mass-marketed consumer personal care products.

There is more awareness about ingredients and there are more benchmarks. For example, there is a new category called “Bio-Based ingredients”: ingredients dervived from plants and not from chemicals. To have a product in this new category, it must voluntarily meet the standards by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). The voluntary certification was launched in 2010 to show (and certify) to the consumer, how much plant-based materials are in the products, and shows a company’s concerted effort to reduce the used on non-renewable resources, like petroleum. Sadly, this initiative expired on October 1, 2012. While any products developed prior to this time still maintain this seal, the USDA no longer has any government funding to continue the program. Leaving many of us exposed to unknown chemicals in personal care products.

However, Seventh Generation complete line of baby personal care products called Wee Generation (diaper rash cream, lotion, bubble bath, soap) was able to receive the  USDA certified bio-based seal before it expired, certifying that the products contain 97%-100% plant-based ingredients. In essence, these baby shampoos, lotions and more are true extention of the Seventh Generation brand; made with the safety of your baby and the safety of the environment in mind.

It’s made with the safety of environment in mind because this line meets the Leaping Bunny standards. The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program provides the best assurance that no new animal testing is used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or suppliers. It’s natural ingredients are endorsed by Healthy Child Healthy World, are gluten-free, tear-free, biodegradable and free from parabens and other bad stuff.

How bad is the bad stuff? The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics was first to document widespread presence of both formaldehyde in baby shampoos. Yes, the cancer causing chemical. Other ingredients in various baby products on the market have a significant impact on a baby’s developing endiocrine system.

Even though we are a user of various Seventh Generation products, what I love about the Seventh Generation personal care baby product line in particular, is that you can learn about the ingredients in the products (what they are or why they are using or not using certain ingredients) on their website at SeventhGeneration.com.  This is refreshing transparency and consumer education at its best.

All in all, I’m a big proponent for natural skin care products and this product line is an honor to write about. Plus, it was fun to give a gift basket away to Cassandra! Thanks to everyone who left a comment! If you would like to learn more about supporting the extention of the USDA Bio-Preferred Program, contact your congressional leader. Lastly, read my post about how to give your baby a massage! And check out my giveaways that currently running here.

Good luck!

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