Seventh Generation Review and Giveaway

This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the winner, #24 Andrea!
Now that my youngest has started preschool, I’m once again worrying about germs. The boys are older, they seem to have outgrown the tendency to pick up and bring home every single germ that gets spread around their classrooms.  But my poor preschooler, having never gone to daycare, she’s never been exposed to the cocktail of germs that other kids can be carrying in their tiny bodies. I’m bracing myself for the onslaught, especially during cold and flu season.

It’s become popular for classrooms to stock liquid hand sanitizers, sometimes in big dispensers near the classroom door, and to also stock up on disinfecting wipes. I personally don’t have a problem with chemical wipes like Clorox makes, but for people who prefer their cleaners to be all natural, Seventh Generation is making a pretty decent wipe under their CleanWell label. It claims to kill 99.99% of germs naturally, and to be effective against the Influenza A virus.

I signed up for a blog tour through MyBlogSpark to check out Seventh Generation products for myself and see if they at least worked as well as they claim to. I have no way to test whether the wipes are killing 99.99% of germs, so I have to take their word for it on that. The products I received are a Seventh Generation backpack, two canisters of Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes (one for home and one to donate to my child’s classroom), disinfecting multi-surface spray cleaner, facial tissue and paper towels.

Not pictured: the tissues, which arrived just in the nick of time because we were completely out and I was resorting to pulling off pieces of toilet paper to wipe my runny fall-allergies stricken nose. The Seventh Generation tissues, I can report, work just fine and seem to be just as strong and, um, absorbent as other brands I’ve used.

The main ingredient in Seventh Generation cleaners is Thymol, a component of thyme oil, which leaves a distinctive herby smell behind. It’s not unpleasant, although certainly different from the lemon or pine fresh fragrances I’m used to using. Both the wipes and the spray cleaner do a perfectly fine job of de-gunkifying my kitchen and bathroom counters and sinks.

I can’t give high praise to the paper towel, though. The ad copy says “strong and absorbent”, but I beg to differ. I found that the paper towel just pushed water or the disinfecting spray liquid around on the counter but didn’t really absorb. It took a lot more of them to get something dry than it would with a traditional paper towel. That being said, many people are willing to give up some absorbency for the environmental impact of using a 100% recycled paper towel. If you are one of those people, Seventh Generation has a paper towel you might like.

Buy It: Purchase the products mentioned here and others at the Seventh Generation Store, and at stores like Target, Kroger, and Walgreens.

WIN IT: This giveaway starts 10/05/10 and ends 10/12/10 at 11:59 PM EST. Open to U.S. mailing addresses only, please. For your main entry, leave a comment telling me how you protect your kids from germs at school, or tell me your tips for keeping your house naturally clean. You must do this before any bonus entries will be counted.

RULES: Open to U.S. mailing addresses only, must be 18 or older to enter.

BONUS ENTRIES: Earn a bonus entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each-

Friend Me on Facebook – add a message that you’re entering the giveaway so I’ll accept your request

Enter to win natural products from @SeventhGen and @MomReviews. Ends 10/12at midnight EST #myblogspark http://wp.me/pTp5n-1pc

THESE ARE WORTH THREE ENTRIES EACH. LEAVE THREE NUMBERED COMMENTS FOR EACH THAT YOU DO!

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THESE ARE WORTH FIVE ENTRIES. LEAVE FIVE NUMBERED COMMENTS FOR EACH THAT YOU DO!

(Not a blogger? No problem! Earn five bonus entries for posting the URL to this giveaway on your Facebook wall (not on mine). Leave a comment with your Facebook URL so I can verify.)

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I’ll choose the winner using the “And the Winner Is” plugin on or around Wednesday Oct. 13th 2010, announce them by editing this post and on Twitter, and email the winner for their mailing address. Shipping will be handled by the sponsor.

Thanks for entering and good luck everybody!

disclosure: The products I received for review and the products being shipped to the giveaway winner were all given to me from Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark. All opinions and statements in this post are 100% mine.