Go Greener Tips

div class=image style=float:right;padding-left:8px;img alt=Woman in store / iStockPhoto height=200 src=http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/the_conscious_consumer/the_conscious_consumer-866116471-1245344588.jpg?ymMdAcBDlRVZBy_a width=300//divpHow do you know if an ad is telling the truth? It’s not always easy, but there are certain clues you can look for to determine if the claims an ad is making are legit or if a marketer is purposely trying to mislead you into thinking a product is healthier, safer, or greener than it truly is. /pp /ppHere are some ways to determine if advertising claims are fact or fiction: /pp /pstrongWords matter./strong Look for specific rather than general claims. The following words are essentially meaningless because they are too vague and/or there aren’t any standard definitions for them: Natural,eco-friendly,green,free range,non-toxic,fragrance free. Visit Consumer Reports’ a href=http://www.greenerchoices.org/home.cfmEco-labels center/a to find out which labels and terms you can trust.     br / br /Meaningless claims are ubiquitous in the marketplace. For example, about a href=http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleart_aid=9856233 percent of food and beverage products/a launched last year made some kind of natural claim. When shopping, it’s safer to look for specific attributes such as made from post-consumer recycled paper or formaldehyde free.p /ppstrongLook for proof. /strongChoose products with claims that can be verified or that have been certified by a third party. These products have been vetted by an independent agency to ensure that they meet certain standards. Some credible logos to look for include a href=http://www.energystar.gov/Energy Star/a, a href=http://www.fscus.org/Forest Stewardship Council/a Certified, and a href=http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateAnavID=NationalOrganicProgramleftNav=NationalOrganicProgrampage=NOPNationalOrganicProgramHomeacct=nopUSDA Organic/a. /pp /ppThe U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently a href=http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/06/10/ftc-cites-kmart-tender-dyna-e-for-false-green-claims/charged K-Mart and other companies/a with making
deceptive and unsubstantiated biodegradable claims on some paper products. The FTC is expected to update its outdated a href=http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htmregulations for green advertising claims/a sometime this year. Hopefully consumers won’t have to read between the lines quite as much if the government cracks down on misleading claims.  /pp /ppstrongDig a little deeper./strong Oftentimes misleading ads will highlight one beneficial aspect of a product, but purposely ignore other less desirable attributes. Organic yogurt may be free of synthetic hormones, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily your healthiest option. Some organic yogurts have more sugar in them than ice cream. /pp /ppPaper may come from a sustainable forest or contain recycled content, but if it’s bleached with chlorine it’s not your most environment-friendly option. It’s hard to find any product that is 100 percent squeaky clean, but you should at least know what you’re paying for. /pp /ppCheck out TerraChoice’s list of a href=http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/The Seven Sins of Greenwashing/a for other tips on sniffing out misleading advertising. /pp /ppIf you’d rather have someone else do your homework for you, then visit these two websites: a href=http://www.goodguide.com/GoodGuide/a rates food, toys, personal care items, and household products based on environmental, social, and health attributes. a href=http://www.greenzer.com/Greenzer/a collects product and merchant info from across the Internet to create a score for each product it features on its site./pp /ppWant to see some of the most egregious misleading ads? View a full sampling, post your own examples, and vote for the worst offenders at the a href=http://www.greenwashingindex.com/Greenwashing/a Index. Or, check out a href=http://greenhome.huddler.com/wiki/great-greenwashed-advertisingHuddler’stop picks/a./pbr /pemEnvironmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a a href=http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/green/forms/consciousconsumerblog.htmlquestion or suggestion/a for potential use in a future column. Her book,/em Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life emis available on a href=http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Green%2C%20Greener%2C%20Greenest%3A%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Making%20Eco-Smart%20Choices%20a%20Part%20of%20Your%20Life:3005209514;_ylt=AsLkIJyzfMD4G3Gl2OYYt_gbFt0A?clink=dmps/lori_bongiorno/ctx=mid:1,pid:3005209514,pdid:1,pos:1,spc:14489115,date:20081009,srch:kw,x:Yahoo! Shopping/a and a href=http://www.amazon.com/Green-Greener-Greenest-Practical-Eco-Smart/dp/0399534032/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1228865081sr=8-1Amazon.com/a./em/p

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