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Former Environmental Adversary Now Partnering With Wal-Mart

Seventh Generation co-founder Jeffrey Hollender used to say that "hell would freeze over" before his company would do business with Wal-Mart. Guess what? Hell's status presumably remains quo but Ellen Byron reports that, starting next month, a bunch of Seventh Generation goods will be sold in about 1,500 Wal-Mart stores.

"We've shifted dramatically in the way we see the world," says Hollender, who now bears executive chairman and "chief inspired protagonist" titles at Seventh Generation.

That shifting view, of course, has been prompted by big changes at the retailer and a personal relationship that dates back to 2006, when Hollender heard that Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott was reading his book. Wal-Mart also enlisted government representatives and groups like the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a well-chronicled sustainability program.

"We're not just putting [Seventh Generation's] products on the shelf," says Al Dominguez, Wal-Mart's vp of household chemicals and paper goods. "We want their help in developing a category that's more sustainable."

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