By Nina Hauptman

The labels practically scream at us from the shelves: Greener Formula! No Artificial Preservatives! Recyclable Packaging! Bold fonts and tall claims may attract the eye of the environmentally conscious consumer, but how much of what we read should we actually believe? 

The practice of inaccurately representing products to make them appear more environmentally friendly than they truly are is known as greenwashing, and it has been around for nearly as long as the green movement itself. Companies know that they can attract more customers if they make their goods seem eco-friendly. What’s more, manufacturers are often able to charge more for these products if they can convince the public that they are environmentally safe.

Just because a product claims to be organic or has an environmentally kosher content list does not necessarily make it green. Where it comes from is equally important. If a product is shipped from Taiwan or China, the fuel pollution may outweigh any environmental benefit from the pure materials used.

On top of that, when a product is manufactured in a faraway country it becomes much harder to regulate the authenticity of its labeling. The U.S. does little to check on the ethics of overseas factories. Conversely, when you buy locally-made goods you can feel somewhat secure about regulation standards.

Sometimes labels make claims that sound green, but are really irrelevant. Take, for example, chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC’s. In the 1980’s, just about every can of hairspray on the market contained these harmful chemicals. However, after they were shown to deplete the ozone layer, laws were passed to phase out the substance in consumer products by 1996.c 

Thus, any can of hairspray claiming to be eco-friendly because it does not contain CFC's is probably no greener than its shelfmates. In truth, most hairsprays contain a long list of questionable chemicals, even if CFC’s are not among them.

The lesson? Always read the full ingredient list, and see if the brand claiming to be green is any different than its competitors. If not, look for more natural alternatives.

There are certain types of products that environmentally conscious consumers should be steer clear of, no matter what the labels’ claims may be. This is because, no matter how much “greener” than their competitors they may promise to be, these kinds of goods are inherently unhealthy for the earth.

Disposable plastic bottles fall into this category. Using a synthetic bottle one time only, and then tossing it away to sit in a landfill (or use up more water and energy in a recycling plant) is not green, no matter what the label may claim. The true green option here is to purchase a multi-use beverage bottle and refill it daily.

Herbicides are another example;  they are generally never green, no matter how they are made.

With all products, a good rule of thumb is that anything containing a lot of chemicals that you can't pronounce is probably not healthy.