Seventh Generation - Diaper Cream, 3 oz.

Seventh Generation's bottles are high-density polyethylene (HDPE), the same plastic in milk jugs, not polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the plastic used for water bottles. It takes less energy to make HDPE bottles than PET ones, according to a 2010 Franklin Associates study. The cornerstone of their approach to sustainable bottles is a commitment to improving each bottle's PCR content so they can avoid the need to take any more petroleum out of the ground and to make use of bottles that would otherwise end up in landfills. Seventh Generation wanted to take their 25% PCR bottles and bring them all the way up to 90% PCR (as of March 2011, these bottles are now 96% PCR). This means that the plastic in the bottles would be 100% recycled content; the remainder of the bottle contains calcium carbonate, which adds strength, and titanium dioxide, which adds the white color that signals to recycling centers that it is an HDPE bottle.

No major household-products company had done this. California law requires 25% PCR content, so that's the industry baseline, and there are a few small HDPE bottles that are 50% PCR, but Seventh Generation is forging new ground. At Seventh Generation, they don't manufacture their own bottles so they need to find creative partners who can support them in making bold changes. Consolidated Container Company (CCC) pledged to make a significant investment in time and equipment toward this effort despite Seventh Generation's relatively low volume. Once their new molds were developed, there was a painstaking period of failed tests (PCR is not as flexible as virgin plastic) and tweaking that was necessary before Seventh Generation was satisfied that the container had been successfully pushed the technological limits.