Seventh Generation Reverses Course

October 24, 2014
To read PETA’s blog, click here.

PETA Letters to Seventh Generation

September 26, 2014
To read PETA’s recent letters to Seventh Generation, click here and here.

Future Generations Need More From Seventh Generation

August 22, 2014

Vermont Digger published an op-ed by Jessica Sandler, the senior director of PETA’s Regulatory Testing Division. Read the full commentary.

Why Is Seventh Generation Lying to You?

August 12, 2014

What do you do when a company flat out lies about its actions? You continue to tell the truth, keep pushing, and hope that it decides to do the right thing.

In this case, Seventh Generation claims that PETA opposes toxic chemical reform and that Seventh Generation is working to minimize animal testing. Both claims are untrue.

Seventh Generation says that it is simply “fighting toxins” and that chemicals should be better tested for safety. We couldn’t agree more, but for the past five years, Seventh Generation has conducted large grassroots campaigns to advocate for legislation that—if successful—would require companies to test thousands of chemicals and products on millions of animals.

For the past 15 years, PETA’s Regulatory Testing Division, headed by a safety and health specialist and supported by toxicology experts, has worked hard to reform the way in which chemicals are tested. In 2007, scientists from the National Academy of Sciences joined this effort and issued a pivotal report calling for the use of non-animal testing methods in order to better protect public health and the environment from the dangers of harmful chemicals.

Because neither Seventh Generation nor its partners in the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition are experts on toxicity testing, their advocacy to date does not take into account either the sea change that has occurred in our understanding of how biological processes work or the new testing methods already in use that can quickly identify chemicals of concern.

Seventh Generation’s strong support for chemical reform and its stated strong stance against animal testing led the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and PETA to try to work with the company on this issue. However, when Seventh Generation wrote to PCRM recently and claimed that PCRM’s efforts to minimize animal testing were “not really compatible” with the company’s position and approach to chemical reform, we knew we had reached a dead end.

The company has NOT, as it is now claiming, lobbied to “promote the development and use of viable alternatives to animal testing, with animal testing used only as a last resort.” But, as result of your letters, Seventh Generation is now telling consumers that it does support this principle. This is PETA’s stance as well, and we hope Seventh Generation has truly changed its mind on this matter. However, actions speak louder than words, which is why Seventh Generation needs to publicly demonstrate that commitment and sign on to PCRM’s letter advocating exactly that language. Then Seventh Generation can truly claim it is advocating for good ethics and good science.

Why Should You Air Seventh Generation’s Dirty Laundry?

August 7, 2014

For more information about our interactions with Seventh Generation and the company’s responses, please click here.

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