The Fine Print of Sustainability: How to Shop Smarter
- Brooke Orr
- May 12
- 3 min read
Updated: May 13
These days, it’s surprisingly easy to feel like you’re making responsible choices when shopping whether it’s food, clothes, or everyday products. But greenwashing, or using marketing language to make things seem eco-friendly or ethical, is more common than most people realize. A lot of the words we see on packaging—like “natural,” “eco-conscious,” or even “sustainable” aren’t always backed by regulations or meaningful standards.
Take eggs, for example. Labels like “Cage Free,” “Farm Fresh,” “Naturally Raised,” and “Certified Humane” sound reassuring, but once you look into what those terms actually mean, it gets a lot murkier. Some, like “Cage Free” are regulated, but the standards are often minimal. Others, like “Farm Fresh,” have no official definition at all. Even third-party certifications that do have criteria like “Certified Humane” still vary in how rigorous or transparent they are. The result is that many of these labels can end up being more about marketing than real impact.
When I first realized how widespread this was across so many categories from food to fashion, I felt overwhelmed. I didn’t want to support companies that fall short of the values I care about, but I also didn’t have the time (or let’s be honest, the energy) to research every single thing I bought. And even with a background in environmental studies, the information I did find was often confusing or inconsistent.
That’s when I shifted my focus from researching individual items to finding tools that could help make better choices easier. I came across a few apps that help break down the ethics, health impact, or environmental footprint of products in a way that’s actually digestible:
Good On You — This app lets you search fashion and beauty brands to see how they score on labor practices, environmental impact, and animal welfare. It doesn’t cover every brand out there, but I’ve found it useful for learning about the ones I shop most.
Yuka — You can scan barcodes or search products (mostly food and cosmetics), and it rates them based on how healthy they are. It’s especially helpful for decoding ingredient lists that feel like they’re written in another language. It also recommends alternatives when a product doesn’t rate well.
EWG’s Healthy Living App — This one focuses mainly on personal care and cleaning products, rating them based on potential health and environmental concerns. I use it as a quick check to see if there’s anything in a product that might raise a red flag.
Even though some of these apps focus more on personal health than direct environmental impact, I’ve found that the two often go hand-in-hand. Products made with cleaner, simpler ingredients are usually better, not just for our bodies, but for the planet too.
Are these apps perfect? No. Like any resource, they have limitations, and some categories are covered more thoroughly than others. But for me, they’ve been a helpful starting point. They’ve made it easier to align my day-to-day decisions with the values I care about without having to do hours of research every time I go to the store.
It’s not about being perfect. But if there are tools that help me make more thoughtful choices, I think that’s a step in the right direction.
Sources: Egg Labeling Regulations Guide
