I went shopping for some bathroom gear over the weekend and wanted to buy green. Every store was touting green this and that yet I wasn't sure what to believe. Greenwashing is falsely claiming or implying that a product or service is environmentally friendly. Realize that while there are few, if any, perfectly green products or services in the world, there are shades of green. Figuring out where a product falls in the range of environmental positives or negatives is the trick to identifying a true green product from a greenwashed one. It is possible to sort it out but it's not easy:

Sniff test – A product is often labeled green even though it has only one green attribute The problem is that if only one green attribute is played up there are often many other product attributes that could be environmentally harmful and effectively cancel the good one. If only one product feature is touted, look for additional information offered on the company's website, label or packaging about how it was made, where the raw material was sourced, or how far it traveled, suspicion is warranted. Companies that are truly trying to be environmentally friendly have more of a green story to tell than to hype one fact over the exclusion of all others.

Look for authenticity --Often companies that put a personal face or a compelling narrative on their product do have an authentic and compelling environmental story. The more detail that is offered by the company about the product shows the pride that they have in it and more often than not, it is in the reasonable range of green. Organic food companies often use a guarantee or a founder's face to communicate a personal pride in the development of the product. Companies that are greenwashing give less rather than more information.

Identify green labels -- There are many green labels for products, so many, in fact, that it is confusing. Someday there may be something similar to a universal nutrition food label on all consumer products giving information about the products environmental footprint including answers about the energy used, the materials it was made from and it's toxicity level. In the meantime familiarize yourself with the variety of labels that currently exist for a few categories of products: Green Seal, Eco-Logo, Energy Star, and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Ask questions -- Another way to verify eco-legitimacy is to do an internet search on the product or company. If there is suspicion or questions about the product, you can usually sleuth it out in cyberspace. Also don't be afraid to call the company directly and ask questions. Pointed questions about how it was made and what materials were used will give you more information. Unfortunately, in the world of green products where there are no universal standards, it is still the wild West where most anything goes so even specific questions may not give you enough information to make a clear decision. The bottom line is to ask for proof or assurance from retailers and brands that the products you are buying won't harm people or the planet.