Chances are, you've noticed the USDA Certified Biobased label on Seventh Generation products. But do you know what it means and why it's important to you as a consumer?

Back in 2002, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated the USDA BioPreferred® program as part of the Farm Bill. The Program is an accreditation for products with demonstrated biobased content – meaning the ingredients come from renewable biological sources.

The USDA Certified Biobased product label actually lists the percentage of biobased content in each product. The move was made to help consumers identify biobased products and increase the demand for renewable commodities. Our hope is that sharing our biobased content will encourage consumers to make more informed and conscious decisions about how products are made.

So why buy biobased? There are a lot of good reasons why the USDA is promoting biobased products: Biobased products replace the need for many petroleum-based products, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. By reducing the need for mining and burning of fossil carbon, we can avoid the release of new carbon into the atmosphere and help control climate change. 

Also, by choosing USDA certified biobased products, you can be assured that the USDA and the Federal government stand behind the accuracy of the percent biobased claim stated on the label. Manufacturers who have been awarded the rights to use the USDA certified biobased label on a product have submitted test evidence of the biobased content for that product to the USDA and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).

Seventh Generation as was one of the first recipients of the USDA Certified Biobased product label, and as an active participant in the USDA BioPreferred program, we've been shown to have some of the highest biobased contents in our class!

Learn more about the USDA BioPreferred® program at www.biopreferred.gov.