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. /ppHere are some ways to determine if advertising claims are fact or fiction… /ppstrongWords 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:/pulliNatural/liliHypoallergenic/liliNontoxic /liliFragrance-free or unscented /liliFree range /liliHormone-free/liliAntibiotic-free /liliEco-friendly, environmentally preferable, or eco-safe /lili Green /li/ulpMeaningless claims are ubiquitous in the marketplace. For instance, 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, but there are no guarantees because in many cases there’s no one verifying the manufacturers claims. /ppSome examples of specific claims: /pulli Made from post-consumer recycled paper /liliFormaldehyde-free/liliNo additives/liliNo animal byproducts/liliNo parabens/liliPhosphate-free/li/ulpVisit Consumer Reports’ a href=http://www.greenerchoices.org/home.cfmEco-labels center/a to find out which labels and terms you can trust./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.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateAnavID=NationalOrganicProgramleftNav=NationalOrganicProgrampage=NOPNationalOrganicProgramHomeacct=nopUSDA Organic,/aa href=http://www.energystar.gov/Energy Star/a, a href=http://www.fscus.org/Forest Stewardship Council/a certified, a href=http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/marketplace.cfm?id=mainRainforest Alliance/a certified, and a href=http://www.greenseal.org/Green Seal/a./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 makingdeceptive 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./ppstrongRely on experts. /strongThese websites do the homework for you: 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. Environmental Working Group’s a href=http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/Skin Deep Cosmetics Database/a can help you find the safest and healthiest cosmetics and personal care products. /ppCheck out TerraChoice’s list of a href=http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/the Seven Sins of Greenwashing/a for additional tips on sniffing out misleading advertising. /ppWant to see some of the most egregiously misleading ads? View a fullsampling, post your own examples, and vote for the worst offenders atthe a href=http://www.greenwashingindex.com/Greenwashing Index/a. Or read about a href=http://greenhome.huddler.com/wiki/great-greenwashed-advertisingHuddler’s top picks/a./pp /pspan class=Apple-style-span class=Apple-style-span style=font-family:arial;p style=margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;span class=Apple-style-span class=Apple-style-span style=font-weight:bold;Yahoo! Green is now on Twitter!  Follow us at /spana href=http://twitter.com/YahooGreen style=color:#006699;text-decoration:none;span class=Apple-style-span class=Apple-style-span style=font-weight:bold;/span/aa href=http://twitter.com/YahooGreenhttp://twitter.com/YahooGreen/a.  /p/spanpemEnvironmental 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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