Defense Against Greenwashing While You Shop

Shopping for the health, society and eco-conscious consumer just got a little easier. A recent article in The Christian Science Monitor profiles Dara O'Rourke, co-founder of GoodGuide, a web site, text service and iPhone application that allows conscious consumers to learn the "back stories" of products on the shelves.

Many of us have had the experience of buying a home or health product, only to find out later that an ingredient is carcinogenic, or the company that produces the product has a lousy recycling record or underpays its employees. Now, consumers can search for their favorite products on GoodGuide, or they can use phone applications to search spur of the moment, while standing in the store.

GoodGuide reviews over 75,000 products, and boils over 600 criteria down to three ratings under the headings of environment, health and society. Consumers can look into details of the category they value most, or they can look at the average score (on a scale of one to ten) that takes all three headings into account.

Best of all, it's easy! Sitting at my desk, I texted "gguide lotion" to 41411, and within seconds received a text from GoodGuide listing the highest rated lotions. A message at the bottom of the text instructed me to reply with a single "I" to receive a list of lotion ingredients to "watch out for." The text was so reassuring, I'm considering adding GoodGuide to my "Five Faves!"