Eco firm Seventh Generation is riding high in Obama revolution

The Sunday Times
February 15, 2009
The boss of Seventh Generation Jeffrey Hollender says the new president gives hope for the future

BEING green isn’t easy, just ask Jeffrey Hollender. The founder of America’s largest distributor of eco-friendy cleaning products spent 20 years struggling to get his brand taken seriously in a political climate that was anything but friendly.
His protests have seen him thrown in prison. In 2007, while taking part in a Green-peace protest against former President George Bush’s stance on global warming, he was carted off to a cell in Washington, where he spent six hours before being charged with a mis-demeanour and released.
Today he is one of the leading voices of America’s green-business movement and last month found himself back in Washington – this time as one of Barack Obama’s advisers on the issues surrounding sustainability and environmental friendliness.
His credentials are not in doubt. Seventh Generation, the company he founded two decades ago, takes its name from the native American proverb: “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” It has since become America’s largest distributor of nontoxic, all-natural cleaning and personal-care products. All come with a guarantee that they will cause as little harm to the environment as possible. Its washing-up liquid is nontoxic, biodegradable, not tested on animals, and even certified kosher. Its loo roll is made of recycled paper and whitened without chlorine.
The firm’s products are starting to build a presence in Britain after growing at 30%-plus a year in America for the past eight years. They are available at small chains such as Fresh and Wild and Planet Organic.
However, selling household goods is not what Hollender sees as his priority. “Seventh Generation in some respects is ultimately not in the business of selling bath-room tissue or washing-up liquid. It’s really in the business of helping people make more thoughtful and conscientious choices about how they lead their lives,” he said. “Raising consciousness is a large part of why we are in business.”
If it all sounds a little self-serving and evangelical, maybe it is. But that does not bother Hollender. The author of several books on environmental issues, he was one of a green core of businessmen recently invited to Washington to advise the new president on sustainability. Billions of dollars of Obama’s economic stimulus package are earmarked for environmental projects.
Among the other people invited to the “social innovation team” were Seth Goldman, founder of Honest Tea, maker of the president’s favour-ite beverage, and Julius Wall from the Grey-stone Bakery, whose workforce was chosen from the unemployed and whose profits are used to help fund day-care centres, health clinics and counselling services.
They talked of creating “green” jobs, as well a “National Institute of Sustainability” and tax incentives for sustainable businesses. It was a sign of the times that the group had a far warmer reception than the other business leaders who have recently been dragged to Washington following the financial meltdown.
“I’m over 50 years old and I was telling my children this is the first time in my life that I was proud to be an American,” Hollender said. “Proud to live in a country where the government stands for something that I really believe in.”
Hollender believes government, businesses and individuals need to work together if they are to tackle the issues facing the planet.
He argues that a key issue is that many goods do not reflect their total cost. “If you’re going to buy organic strawberries or nonorganic strawberries, the nonorganic strawberries have to reflect the price of the water pollution created by the use of pesticides or the healthcare costs of the workers that were exposed to those pesticides. Until that happens we’ll never make all the progress we’ll need to make,” he said.
Hollender, too, is thinking big as he tries to push his ideas. Seventh Generation is now working with WalMart and will offer its products in the giant retailer’s stores.
It was a controversial move in a green land where WalMart (owner of Asda) has been portrayed as the enemy. But WalMart has made great strides in its thinking, said Hollender. The firm is greening its fleet of delivery vans, for example, and is becoming a big player in organics. The scale of its business means it can be a force for good, he believes. “In the end there’s no mileage in me spending all my time shouting at people,” said Hollender.
For all his new-found love of Washington, though, one big problem stands in the way of his and Team Obama’s plans: the credit crunch.
John Quelch, Harvard Business School professor and author of Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes for Better Democracy, said having a green message was becominga “must-have instead of a special benefit”. The entry of firms such as WalMart showed this was the way forward, he said. “They are in the position to drive this in a way that other retailers aren’t. But this trend will necessarily take a step back in a recession because the consumers’ willingness to pay the price may be offset by the need to save pennies,” said Quelch.
Hollender is confident that he can keep growing his business without compromising his principles.
“This is the best opportunity to make a positive change we have ever had,” he said. “The question is will we seize the opportunity?”
Hollender’s life Age: 54Education: ‘Not much, dropped out of Hampshire College after 1½ years’ Early career: ‘Started a window-washing business at 14; an adult-education firm at 19; and a books-on-tape company at 24. I sold the latter to Warner Communications when I was 30.’ Homes: Charlotte in Vermont and New York Car: 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 1967 Mercedes 250 SL Film: The Endless Summer Book: Presence, by Peter Senge Maxim:‘We must be the change we wish to see in the world’ – Gandhi Net worth:‘Much more than I’ll ever need, but less than I seem to want’