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Greenie in a bottle: Seventh Generation 4X Laundry Detergent
The liquid-in-a-plastic-bag-inside-of-a-recyclable-cardboard box concept made popular with wine extends to liquid laundry detergent bottle design with Seventh Generation's new 4X Laundry Detergent.
Thu, Mar 10 2011 at 6:00 PM
Here’s an interesting development in the always-exciting world of liquid laundry detergent packaging design:
 
As reported by USA TODAY, Seventh Generation has debuted liquid laundry detergent bottles made from 100 percent recycled cardboard and newspaper. Although the bottle for 4X Laundry Detergent isn’t completely plastic-free — there’s a plastic pouch inside of the molded 70 percent recycled cardboard/30 percent recycled newspaper shell that holds the liquid detergent as well as a plastic cap — Seventh Generation claims that the revamped bottle uses 66 percent less plastic than standard detergent jugs. The cardboard/newspaper shell can be recycled or composted while the plastic bag and cap can be recycled in some areas. Essentially, Seventh Generation has brought the boxed wine concept to eco-friendly detergents.
 
The last time I blogged about innovative laundry detergent packaging, it was a post on totally bottle-less Berry+. That particular product (I had the chance to test drive Berry+ a couple weeks back at my local laundromat and I’m pretty much head over heels in love) involves individual “doses” of super-concentrated, 99.8 percent natural laundry soap housed inside of a lightweight recyclable clamshell container. While Seventh Generation isn’t totally abandoning the bottle concept for something more radical like Berry+, the recycled/recyclable cardboard/newspaper design is certainly a step in the right direction.
 
Julie Corbett of Ecologic Brands, the company that makes the new bottle, tells USA TODAY: "If you change too much, you can end up scaring consumers from buying it."
 
To start, only one-quarter of Seventh Generation’s liquid laundry detergent bottles will incorporate the new design (I assume this means just the new 4X Laundry Detergent line and no other Seventh Generation liquid laundry products with have the new bottles). If consumers aren’t too scared off, the company will up the production of these new, mostly non-plastic bottles.
 
4X Laundry Detergent bottles contain 50 ounces of ultra-concentrated plant-based detergent that’s good for up to 66 laundry loads. It will be available in Free & Clear and Geranium Blossom & Vanilla varieties. The cost? $12.99 to $14.99. 
 
I haven’t yet had the chance to test out Seventh Generation 4X Laundry Detergent but can’t wait to get my hands on it. How do you think you’ll act when you see a recycled cardboard/newspaper bottle of Seventh Generation laundry detergent at a retailer near you? Will you opt for the standard plastic bottle out of habit or do you think you'll give this new design a try? 
 
 

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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Comments: 2
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anonymous
Sara Jul 03 2012 at 11:15 AM

Congratulations Seventh Generation on being a leader in sustainability! http://bit.ly/LN118R

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anonymous
Edward D Marinac Mar 11 2011 at 2:05 AM
Really enjoyed your post about the laundry detergent using a paper outer "shell", the plastic bag inner to hold the liquid and the attached pour spout. I'm all for helping the environment, and I really like this design...but who is responsible for separating the outer shell, the inner liner and the spout for recycling, the consumer? That will rarely happen. Will it be the recycling department at the local garbage hauling company? If they are anything like the dolts hired by our collection service
.... More
who make $7 per hour, that won't happen either. In the end...everything will be thrown away in the landfill and buried, without any air or sunlight to help break down the packaging. Here's my point, we can keep playing around with all of these new environmentally friendly packaging designs...but if garbage is not given time to break down in a landfill, or better really separated and recycled with other like paper or plastic products, this is a waste of time. Until that happens, or there really are controls to the recycling process, consumers will "think" they are doing good, the packaging company making these things will make a lot of money (you don't think they are doing all of this new environmentally friendly packaging and not charging a premium did you?),and the garbage companies will collect and dump and bury garbage like normal and 25 years from now we'll be able to drill down 450 feet and pull out this environmentally friendly liquid container good as new. I'm not trying to be a "Debbie Downer" but environmentally friendly packaging has to be a complete cycle where every stage of the process is completed, otherwise this is a more expensive waste of time and resources. Edward D. Marinac
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