NAD Recommends Revisions to Seventh Generation Ads

The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Seventh Generation Inc.,modify or discontinue certain advertising claims for the company’s household cleaning and laundry products.

NAD, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum, reviewed health, safety and ingredient claims made in broadcast and Internet advertising and product packaging by Seventh Generation, following a challenge by The Procter & Gamble Company.

The broadcast advertising at issue featured people carrying boxes of unlabeled cleaning products as the voiceover stated: “We’re Seventh Generation and we want to talk to you about a revolution.People everywhere are saying no to hazardous chemicals …. and yes to a safe and naturally effective way to clean.”

The commercial featured a baby’s pacifier, picked up from the floor and returned to the baby’s mouth, and a child cleaning a counter with a Seventh Generation product as the voiceover stated “when the five second rule is extended and no one holds their breath while cleaning.”

The commercial ended with the following: “For over twenty years, we’ve poured our hearts into this movement and we’re happy to see it’s starting to catch on.Seventh Generation – protecting planet home.”

At the advertiser’s Website, a video featured the challenger’s Tide Total Care Liquid Detergent and Dr. Alan Greene, pediatrician and the author of “Raising Baby Green.”

During the video, Dr. Greene stated: “I want to talk with you for just a few moments about chemicals in our homes, especially chemicals in our cleaning products can be some of the most toxic chemicals – things that we’re using trying to make our homes safe and clean for our families.Well, think for a moment about all of the illnesses that are rapidly increasing in children – things like autism and ADHD, asthma, allergies, diabetes, cancer in babies – all of the things that that are going up very quickly.It’s not our genetics that have changed, it’s the environment. … So what can we do? First, in your own home make wise choices. I would minimize or stop the use of things that have to say on the label: danger or warning, or harmful, or harmful or fatal if swallowed, and instead choose product that are made from nontoxic ingredients, and especially ones that are willing to list all the ingredients on the label.”

The following claims were at issue in NAD’s review:

•Seventh Generation Household Cleaning Products do not contain “hazardous” chemicals.

•Seventh Generation Detergents are [100%] natural.

•All products that compete with Seventh Generation Household Cleaning Products, particularly P&G household cleaning products: (1) are not safe, (2) are not as safe as Seventh Generation Household Cleaning Products, (3) require consumers to hold their breath during use and (4) are leading to a rapid increase in childhood illnesses such as autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies, cancer and diabetes.

As a preliminary matter, the advertiser noted that the video featuring Dr. Greene has been permanently discontinued and it advised NAD that it would permanently discontinue the claim involving the “five second rule” in conjunction with the depiction of the baby’s pacifier being picked off the floor and put back in the baby’s mouth.

Following its review of the evidence in the record, NAD determined that the television commercial as a whole conveyed a comparative safety claim. Further, NAD determined that one interpretation of the statement “saying no to hazardous chemicals” is that none of the individual ingredients in Seventh Generation products are hazardous. NAD noted that both parties conceded that their household cleaning products contain hazardous chemicals. NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue any express or implied claims that suggest its products do not contain hazardous chemicals.

Further, NAD determined that there was no evidence in the record indicating that, when used as directed, Seventh Generation products are safer than competing household cleaning products. NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue the comparative safety claims at issue and limit references to consumers having to hold their breath when using household cleaning products by making the basis of comparison very specific.

However, NAD noted that nothing in its decision prevents the advertiser from promoting its efforts to minimize the use of hazardous chemicals in its products or promote its full disclosure of all the ingredients in its household cleaning products.

NAD noted that there is no regulatory definition and no consensus within the household products industry of what constitutes “natural.”

Following its review of the evidence in the record, NAD noted that it was concerned by the fact that the key ingredients in certain Seventh Generation products are only partially natural, which contradicts the unqualified “natural” in the product name –especially significant given that purchasers of Seventh Generation products specifically seek out natural products.

NAD determined that the use of “natural” on certain products should be qualified to make it clear that the basis for the claim is the fact that the surfactants, or cleaning agents, are plant-derived or plant-based.Further, NAD determined that the reference to “naturally” in the context of the television commercial at issue should be discontinued and that the advertiser avoid conveying the message that its product is all-natural.

The company, in its advertiser’s statement, said it will take NAD’s recommendations into consideration “while we continue to pursue the highest levels of transparency and authenticity in all of our communication.”