Sometimes a plant oil is minimally modified with carbon from other sources to improve its performance. When carbon in the modified plant oil is mostly (more than 50%) from the plant, Seventh Generation refers to the ingredient as plant-based. The remaining carbon may be derived from petroleum based sources.

Some ingredients obtain their carbon exclusively from plants, but have been modified from their state found in nature to provide functional performance. Seventh Generation refers to such ingredients as plant-derived.

Many ingredients are found in nature as minerals. If the mineral has been processed to form an ingredient it is listed as mineral-based on our label.

When most (50% or more) of the carbon in an ingredient is from sources other than a plant, Seventh Generation identifies the ingredient as plant-modified synthetic.

Some of our formulations require the use of a preservative or preservative system, which helps prevent microorganism growth that can make your products go bad. At this time, we have not found an effective plant-derived preservative system that is compatible with our products. Because of this, we feel confident that our synthetic preservative is the best option at this time. However, we are diligently searching for a wholly plant-derived preservative system.

Finally, if the carbon in an ingredient is derived exclusively from petroleum or natural gas, the ingredient is synthetic.