Jan 4, 2008 4:00 pm US/Eastern
3 On Your Side: Green Labels
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Enter almost any store and you'll see labels with words such as recyclable, non-polluting, biodegradable and non-toxic. But what do these "green" words really mean? 3 On Your Side's Jim Donovan tells you there's no black and white answer.
Everything's "going green" these days, from household cleaners, to cotton clothes and a lot of people are getting into the act. "I want to keep the environment healthy for future generations to come, so I buy products that are better for the environment and do whatever I can," said Harly Golub, a green shopper.
But do green buzzwords really make a difference? When you're shopping for green cleaning products, there are lots of terms you'll see on the labels. The Good Housekeeping Research Institute says some words are worth it and some are not. "Two we definitely feel are worth it are biodegradable and recyclable," said Carolyn Forte with the Institute. "Biodegradable means that the ingredients or components in the product, break down into substances that are found in nature," she added.
The next term is recyclable, which means the packaging is recyclable. "There are some terms that you will see on the labels that we feel really don't matter that much," Forte said. "One in particular is non-toxic which implies that it doesn't contain any harmful ingredients, but in reality, experts can't agree on a definition of non-toxic, and it really doesn't mean much," she added.
And what about organic cotton? It's regulated at the growing stage by the USDA. That means organic cotton cannot be grown with any pesticides or herbicides. "What you should look for in labeling when you are looking at organic cotton is a label such as one from J. Jill where it states that it's made from organic and sustainable crops," said Kathleen Huddy with the Institute. The other way to look at it is where it says 100% organically grown.
More than 40% of Americans say they are willing to pay more for products labeled as "environmentally friendly" or "organic."
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