Nov. 20, 2007 Though he once likened doing business with Wal-Mart to "selling his company's soul," Seventh Generation CEO Jeff Hollender is now considering becoming a supplier for the retail giant, Fortune reports.

Hollender says the about-face comes after an independent review of Wal-Mart's sustainability efforts and a meeting with CEO Lee Scott last year.

"Three years ago, I would have never imagined even considering doing business with them," Hollender says. "[But] the progress they have made is beyond what I imagined or hoped for three years ago."

An alliance with Wal-Mart represents business opportunities as well as potentional pitfalls for Seventh Generation, a small manufacturer of non-toxic household cleaning products. Hollender cautions that the company might not be able to keep up with orders from such a large retail outlet. In addition, he says, Seventh Generation may risk alienating its environmentally conscious and highly opinionated consumer base. "I do believe that if we were to make the decision to do business with Wal-Mart, we would lose some consumers," Hollender admits.

No agreement has yet been reached.