The Murky Waters of Healthy Marketing: How to Choose What is Actually Good for Your Family

You want what’s best for yourself and for your family. You don’t opt for the cheapest options that are full of chemicals, and with harmful substances and the like. You work hard on doing what is best for the environment and your health, but the problem is that you might actually be buying into a marketing lie. There are very few regulations that go into ensuring that when a company uses the word ‘organic’ or ‘eco-friendly’ that it is actually organic or good for the environment. To ensure that you really do get what’s best for your family, follow these tips:

1. Don’t rely on Labels

Labels do not tell the whole story. Unless they specifically state what they mean when they say their product is eco-friendly, or gluten-free, or organic (or any of the other buzzwords) you should be suspicious. That is because in some cases, they have put the label on just to raise the price. Some foods that never had gluten to begin with, for instance, are marked up to appeal to the growing interest.

1. Greenwashing

Greenwashing is a marketing tactic that makes unsubstantiated claims that a certain product is good for the environment, when in reality the company itself is a huge pollutant, or the practice that makes it “green” is more damaging than it actually is. For instance, soy mattresses are marketed as an eco-friendly option, when in reality only a small fraction is made from soy, and the practice of producing the soy at such large quantities cuts down over four million hectares of rainforest every year. That is why when you are looking for an eco-friendly mattress, you need to do your own research.

1. Do Your Own Research

If you want to use products that are good for the environment and purchase food that is healthy for your family, you are going to have to do your own research. Find which companies are greenwashing, and which are genuinely trying to do their best for you and for the world. A simple search when you are at the supermarket can do wonders.

1. When in Doubt, DIY

If you are every worried, or otherwise not satisfied with the eco and healthy options available, try to DIY it. Growing your own vegetables can be very rewarding, and the same goes for producing your own soaps or scrubs. These fun crafts are great ways to spend time with the kids, teach them, and ensure they are eating or using wholesome products.

Companies use marketing tactics like ‘eco-friendly’ to get others to buy their products over their competitors. There isn’t a lot of regulation that goes into enforcing who can and cannot use this brand. You need to do your own research to see whether their efforts into being ‘eco-friendly’ are genuine or not. There are companies out there who do want to do right by the environment and who do want to keep your families safe and healthy – you just need to rely more on labels to find them.