# Seventh Generation Diapers EXPOSED



## Skinjob

CBC just aired this expose in Canada on the truth behind "natural" and "organic" product labeling. As it turns out, Seventh Generation is just as deceitful as any other company: they DYE the diapers brown so that they appear to be "natural". They operate on the claim that their product is chlorine free, so they dye the diapers brown to make them appear to be unbleached. Also, since most big diaper companies are not using chlorine in their diapers anymore (especially not the kind that causes cancer), this makes Seventh Generation NO DIFFERENT than any other sposie on the market. Check out this expose for proof that those of us who tried Seventh Generation thinking they are better for our babies were duped into paying 4X times more for a dyed brown disposable. Despicable.

*http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/lousylabels/*

Makes me feel better about my decision to cloth diaper, but we were using Seventh Generation at night occasionally.


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## arieltron

wow, I totally wondered about that, because the Whole Foods store brand chlorine free diapers are white. The brown is totally a fashion statement! Thanks for the heads up.


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## Blanca78

Crazy--I was planning on buying some Seventh Generation diapers as a back up for cloth, especially after they got a higher rating than some cloth diapers on this green product rating site. I had it bookmarked and now I can't find it!


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## AllyRae

And I'd almost jump on the bandwagon of wanting a class action lawsuit for the extra money we spent on 7th gen over regular diapers, but they were the only disposable diaper that didn't put welts all over my dd's legs (something to do with the elastic...she was allergic to the elastic in the regular brand diapers).


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## Drummer's Wife

That's nuts. I much preferred Nature Babycare diapers. Hopefully they are really made the way they claim.


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## redvlagrl

How annoying! I have paid $24 a pack for 7th gen! We use cloth, but I do buy sposies when we travel and daycare. Sometimes I have used the PC Green sposies for daycare and they are much cheaper. It makes me feel much better about that becuase I felt guilty about not buying the 7th gen!

Apart from the bleaching etc what I really like about the 7th gen and PC diapers is that they don't have frangrance. I refuse to use Huggies or Pampers.


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## mamadiamond

wow. another reason i'm so glad i switched to cloth. i started out using 7th gen, but they leaked like crazy. eventually i was using the target brand disposables because i gave up on green in desperation trying to keep the poo in. but now in cloth i've never had a blowout ever.

7th gen is pretty bad about dishonest labeling. a lot of their cleaners have some pretty harmful ingredients but are still labeled as safe and natural. it's another excuse to overcharge. i quit buying their expensive "green" cleaners before i quit buying their expensive "green" diapers.


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## Perdita_in_Ontario

Okay, so I read the interview with 7th Gen that's linked next to the video, and it's not as simple as "they dye their diapers brown to make them look unbleached."

What I'm getting from the interview is that ALL diaper companies use "pigment" in their diapers - it's just that most use white pigment. It's to make them look more aesthetically pleasing. I'm not an expert but it sounds like without this pigment (dye?), you can see the pee (gasp!) and that turns people off and they won't buy the product. 7th Gen maintains that there was quite a visceral reaction in test groups to a diaper without the pigment and it became clear that if they wanted to sell their product, it would need the pigment. They chose a brown pigment as differentiation (and yeah, because it looks more natural). They were forthcoming about the fact that chlorine bleach isn't used in any diapers.

So based on this, I'm not sure that I'd boycott or sue 7th Gen for essentially doing what every other diaper company does. I don't use their product - I find them outlandishly expensive and on the odd occasion we use a disposable at night, I use PC Green, which is more effective and much cheaper, with no illusions that they're much better than any other disposable.


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## monkeyma

I have to add that the seventh generation site discloses that information on their website, so it's not like they're trying to hide it.


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## slgt

Thanks for clicking through to read what Seventh Generation has to say. I'm sharing the link here:

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/news/understanding-seventh-generation-diapers


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## DevaMajka

Yeah, I'm torn on how to feel about 7th gen after watching/reading that. On the one hand, if totally natural won't sell, then it makes little sense to make it. OTOH, because of their image, I hold them to a higher standard than other companies.

I never bought 7th gen anyways. We cd most of the time, but use store brand sposies when we use sposies.


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## Perdita_in_Ontario

The thing is, they wouldn't be totally natural without the pigment either. They still use plastic/SAPs and adhesive. They need to, to make the diaper work the way people are expecting it to. There aren't many disposables that don't - Tushies don't have SAPs. gDiapers (and the other hybrids?) don't have plastic because they sit in a waterproof shell.

What it comes down to for me, as an occasional disposable user, is that if you're going to buy a disposable, you need to accept that it's not going to be natural. I've used Tushies, and they won't catch on with most people - they're bulky. Pampers has done far good a job of convincing people that a diaper is supposed to be trim for something like Tushies to become acceptable to most (for CD users, I think that's different).

I don't want to let 7th Gen completely off the hook - that brown pigment DID sell me for a while too and that bugs me. Even if it's true that all diapers use the pigment, and the brown is a "differentiator", they know that if they say "no chlorine bleach" and have a brown diaper, there is an implication that the others ARE using nasty bleaches, and unless you go to the website and read about it, you're not going to get the full story. I consider myself an informed consumer, and I did NOT go to the website and bought into it. They are doing the old "well, you need to be an informed consumer, *shrug*" thing, and that annoys me. But... it's true.


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## slgt

gDiapers DO use SAP. Click here for more information.

I am doing a bit more research to find out of non-petroleum-based SAPs have made it into the diaper manufacturing business yet. I know that there are some, such as wheat-based, that are in use for other applications, but the more natural SAPs have different absorption qualities which have, in the past, rendered them impractical for diapers.

I found this article that does a pretty good job of taking apart the components of the 'sposies available on the market. It's an older article, but I believe that the technology discussion still applies.


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## Perdita_in_Ontario

Yep, sorry, that's what I meant - badly written. The Tushies don't have SAPs. gDiapers do have SAPs but don't have the plastic liner.


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## samstress

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Drummer's Wife*
> 
> That's nuts. I much preferred Nature Babycare diapers. Hopefully they are really made the way they claim.


me too. these are the ones i use when i have to use a sposie.


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## Skinjob

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *samstress*
> 
> me too. these are the ones i use when i have to use a sposie.


Where do you guys buy this brand - or Tushies - in Ontario? I can't seem to find them.

As for the chlorine issue, according to the author of Ecoholic, the major brands aren't using chlorine either so marketing their diapers as "Chlorine Free" is a little sketchy to me. The implication here, is that other brands do. They might admit to dying them brown but you have to dig for that information. That information is not plastered all over the front of the packaging. So the chlorine thing then becomes incidental. They might as well also advertise the fact that they are "Formaldehyde Free" too. It's a bit misleading if you ask me.

We CD, but on occasion have used sposies. In those instances, I'd like to use an ethical product - and I'm not sure 7th Generation is it anymore. I feel like we were duped into overpaying for the same sh*t, different colour.


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## Jane

I like Seventh Gen because they fit newborns really well and don't have any objectionable fragrance. I really cannot stand the normal baby powder diaper smell. Other than that, I buy based on cost and rashiness potential. I don't think there's really a way to make disposible diapers green enough to outweigh that it's disposible. Kind of like paper towels. But I still use and buy paper towels occasionally. And disposible dipes make sense, for some situations as well.


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## samstress

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Skinjob*
> 
> Where do you guys buy this brand - or Tushies - in Ontario? I can't seem to find them.


my local target used to carry them, but sadly don't anymore.  target does still offer them online, however. babies r us has them (online only), but they're eligible for store pickup at my local babies r us. amazon also has them. here's a list of retailers


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## Perdita_in_Ontario

Target isn't in Canada - yet! (Soon!)

I've only found NatureBabyCare and Tushies online, and not in any Canadian stores at least in my area. Sorry.


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## slgt

Nature Babycare diapers do contain gel. I do not doubt their claims of using biodegradable components. However, unless you take those components apart after using the diaper and put them someplace where they compost, they are not going to compost in landfill in our lifetime.

To my knowledge, Tushies is the only gel-free brand of 'sposies. Earth's Best diapers do, I believe, contain a small amount of naturally-derived SAP (wheat/corn-based).


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## mommieof2

I have tried 7th gen diapers because my little one had a bad allergic reaction to regular sposies. They made her out break worse and they leak like crazy!!!! I definitely dont think they are worth what they cost!


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