seventhgenerationSpring is here finally, and many of us are digging out from a long, cold winter with a bit of spring cleaning around the house, myself included. At the same time, many of us are exposing our families to harmful chemicals, without even realizing it. The cleaning that we do to remove dust, germs and dirt from our homes can be just as harmful the bacteria and grime itself.

Here are just a few of the statistics gathered by Seventh Generation about common ideas on cleaning products and household chemicals:

  • More than half of U.S. adults (58%) don’t always check the labels of cleaning products to determine if they contain ingredients that are harmful to their health.
  • The majority of people (75%) store their household cleaning products/solutions under the sink, followed by 37% that store their products in the bathroom and 33% in the laundry room.
  • Sixty-seven percent (67%) of adults believe that companies are required to disclose all of the chemical ingredients contained in their products, which isn’t true.
  • While more than half of adults believe that household cleaning products (e.g., window cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, kitchen cleaner) cause substantial damage to the environment (53%) and think that if used daily products that contain dyes or fragrances can be harmful to their health (59%), only 21 percent of parents opt for cleaning products with natural ingredients.
  • Parents with children under the age of six years clean their home by wiping the surfaces with a cleaning solution/product several times per week (33%) and 27% clean once per day or more, yet 67% inaccurately believe that companies are required to disclose all of the chemical ingredients contained in their products.
  • While 78% of parents admit that their children know where the cleaning products are stored in the house, only 32% acknowledge they always check the labels to determine if they contain ingredients that are harmful to their families’ health.

Seventh Generation is collaborating with WebMd to help raise awareness about the harmful chemicals and other environmental hazards in the home. You can take an online assessment that will help you to pinpoint the problem areas in your home and make you aware of solutions that will make your family safer. Take the quiz and see where the hidden dangers are in your own home.

I was given several of the Seventh Generation products to try out, and have been very pleased with the results. These dye and chemical free products seem to work just as well as their toxic counter parts. My kitchen smells fresh and clean, and I don’t have the worry of chemicals on my food prep areas. The fabric softener is very effective, even working quite well on towels dried on the line. I was also very impressed with the quality of the recycled paper towels made by the company, as well. They are as durable and absorbent as many of the major national brands and much better quality than the cheap versions that I usually purchase.

The generous people at Seventh Generation have offered to give one of my lucky readers an under-sink makeover, with a ton of great products. The gift basket will include:

Glass Cleaner – Grapefruit
All-Purpose Cleaner – Green Mandarin
Toilet Bowl Cleaner – Emerald
Shower Cleaner – Green Mandarin
Tub & Tile Cleaner
Kitchen Cleaner
Natural Paper Towels – 120 Count
Reusable Tote

To enter, visit the Seventh Generation website, then come back here and leave a comment with which product you would like to try. This main entry must be completed in order for additional forms of entry to count.

For additional entries, you can :

  • Join the Seventh Generation Nation (You’ll get coupons for products monthly, plus access to a great community)
  •  subscribe to my feed
  • tweet about the giveaway (up to 3 times)
  • add my button to your sidebar or blogroll
  •  blog about the giveaway

 

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Entries combined into one comment will only be counted one time.

This giveaway will end Wednesday, April 15 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and contacted by email. Prize must be claimed within 72 hours of email or another winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

This Giveaway is now CLOSED!

The winner is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

53

Timestamp: 2009-04-16 16:12:04 UTC

Kelly says:

I’m already a member of the nation!

 

Congratulations! I will be emailing you for your information shortly!

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