You have seen the labels: ecological, sustainable, recyclable, recycled, compostable, biologically decomposable , natural, plastic-free and more. And since you care about the planet, you probably buy products based on these claims and think you're doing the Earth a solid.

But here's the thing: they're often just words - very carefully chosen marketing words designed to make you feel good and virtuous about buying a given product. Sometimes they are legitimate. But often they are nonsense. When it's the latter, it's called greenwashing, and it's a real problem. Why? (Kristin Hostetter, outsideonline)