Screenshot of the GoodGuide iPhone app

Let's be honest. I'm a fan clever marketing. 

But tricky or deceptive, well, that's a different story. And sometimes it is hard to determine the difference.

Apparently, Dara O'Rourke agreed, and founded GoodGuide, a year-old website that purports to "provide the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home," rating each on a scale of 1 to 10.

We all mean well, and want to live--and shop--that way. But sometimes a product isn't exactly what it claims to be, and trying to see through all the greenwashing is getting more and more difficult every year. 

In the shower, have you ever paused mid-lather, to think, "What's in this 'herbal' shampoo?" How about that 'natural' green tea soda? And you may want to think twice about that 'diet' frozen dinner you've got stashed at your office. 

The site pulls information from more than a decade of the U.C. Berkeley professor's research to help consumers navigate the supermarket. 

For proof of their progressiveness, check out the GoodGuide iPhone app, which allows you to scan barcodes for instant ratings. The best part? It's all free.  

No iPhone? There's a text-messaging option, too.

Of the 60,000-plus products and companies currently in the GoodGuide database, about 11,000 are related to food. But that number is quickly growing: O'Rourke and his team add about 1,000 items a week. The goal is to get to 70,000, which should encompass every product in your basic grocery store.