How Seventh Generation reaches eco-conscious shoppers

July 15, 2021

Brands worldwide are more focused on their environmental impact than ever before, and consumers are just as intent on finding more sustainable products.

Consumers are voting with their dollars—and they’re choosing brands that have sustainability as one of their core attributes. From 2013-2018, sales of products marketed with sustainable attributes grew 5.6 times faster than those that were not, according to NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business.1 Furthermore, in more than 90% of the consumer packed goods categories studied, sales of sustainability-marketed products grew faster than their conventional counterparts within the same category.2

Seventh Generation is well-attuned to what today’s customers seek—and it drives them to innovate. For over thirty years, Seventh Generation has been on a mission to create a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world for generations to come.

“That mission is at the heart of everything we do,” says Benjamin Young, Senior Brand Manager, eCommerce, Seventh Generation. “Sustainability has been core to Seventh Generation since our founding more than three decades ago, and will continue to be the bedrock of our decision-making every day.”

Here, Young shares how Seventh Generation continuously works to reduce their environmental impact and meet customers’ needs, and how they’re leveraging Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program to share their brand mission and values with eco-conscious shoppers.

Seventh Generation 100% recycled bath tissue on a bathroom shelf

Seventh Generation 100% recycled bath tissue

On developing products that customers seek

Benjamin Young: Creating products that deliver on our customers’ needs is what Seventh Generation is all about. That's why we create home and personal care products that deliver the efficacy they are looking for, using plant-based ingredients and scents from essential oils and botanical ingredients. That's why we design our products from recycled materials, and to be recycled. That's why we put our put all of our ingredients right on the package.

A perfect example is Seventh Generation's EasyDose Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent. We’ve been able to offer an innovative product that delivers the clean feeling consumers want in their laundry detergent, while using 60% less plastic, 50% less water, and making the product 75% lighter than our 100 fluid ounce bottle and formula.

Seventh Generation sensitive protection diapers on a diaper table

Seventh Generation sensitive protection diapers

On communicating values throughout the shopping journey

Benjamin Young: Helping our customers see our environmentally-focused mission is very important. Amazon and the Climate Pledge Friendly program allow us to break through and capture customers’ attention while they are shopping, and tell them a little bit of our story. This is the first and most critical step to convincing customers to give us a try.

Amazon helps Seventh Generation achieve its mission of transforming the world into a healthy, sustainable, and equitable place for the next seven generations. Especially since the onset of the pandemic, we know that customers are turning online to purchase the products they need to maintain the cleanliness and freshness of their homes. Amazon provides opportunities to reach and engage with customers through Amazon.com, Fresh, Whole Foods, and even physical stores. Amazon Advertising gives Seventh Generation effective tools for accelerating and enriching these customer relationships. The suite of capabilities for reaching customers, developing creative, optimizing, and reporting are key to achieving our goals.

Seventh Generation has obtained Climate Pledge Friendly badging on more than 55 products in our Store, and we’re developing a separate tab on our Store to highlight Climate Pledge Friendly products and provide related content. Early performance has been very promising, with Climate Pledge Friendly audiences delivering more than 60% higher click-through rates, more than 140% higher new-to-brand purchase rates, and more than 40% reduction in cost-per-purchase.3 We are very excited to reach these audiences within our campaign structure, and we look forward to seeing how these products evolve in the future.

Seventh Generation 100% recycled paper towels on a kitchen counter

Seventh Generation 100% recycled paper towels

On continuing to push boundaries for customers and the planet

Benjamin Young: We know that we can't change the world on our own. Insights have shown that consumers today expect more out of retailers and brands. The Climate Pledge Friendly program not only helps customers shop more sustainably, but also makes it easier for them to do so. And we are really just getting started. Climate Pledge Friendly helps us tell the story of our current product portfolio, while we at Seventh Generation continue investing in innovation that can raise the bar even further.

If you’re interested in advertising your Climate Pledge Friendly products, reach out to your Amazon Advertising account executive.

Learn more about sustainable marketing.

Sources

1 Sustainable Share Index™: Research on IRI Purchasing Data (2013-2018). NYU Stern, Center for Sustainable Business
2 Sustainable Share Index™: Research on IRI Purchasing Data (2013-2018). NYU Stern, Center for Sustainable Business
3 Amazon Advertising has created net new audiences based off of our 1P shopping signals to help advertisers connect with eco-conscious audiences. Metrics are comparing results for campaigns using Climate Pledge Friendly audiences vs. campaigns that did not use Climate Pledge Friendly audiences