We may be well advised to never judge a book by its cover, but what about judging a product by its label? That’s getting harder to do as the number of labels multiply exponentially and the objectivity of the labels seems to shrink.

Green is big business and businesses, no strangers to spindoctoring, aren’t adverse to luring consumers to their products–touting its organic/fair-trade/all-natural/bird-friendliness, among other things. What’s more, a study by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing in Canada revealed that greenwashing–making claims to present a product as more eco-friendly than it really is–is thriving on the shelves of North America. Indeed, such claims as “energy-efficient,” “chemical-free” or chlorofluorocarbon-free were false and misleading.

It’s enough to make any shopper reach for a cup of organic (or is it?) tea–or perhaps a fair-trade chocolate bar.

Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association, is on top of the wave of labels coming consumers’ way. He admits that, while consumers may be a bit confused by labels, they still tell pollsters “the more information the better.”

Cummins comes clean on the labels we can trust–and those we can label “misleading”:

USDA/Certified Organic: This is a third-party certification that actually has substance. “These products are inspected and monitored by independent third-party certifiers operating under uniform and transparent standards,” explains Cummins. For personal care products, buyer beware. A new certification–OASIS–has been created by the industry and is ostensibly legit. However, it allows ingredients that wouldn’t pass muster with the “official” organic standards. A study in spring 2008 sent shockwaves through the industry when it was revealed that some leading self-proclaimed “organic” brands contained carcinogenic chemicals. While most have at least a few individual “certified organic” ingredients, these top-selling brands were not USDA organic certified, thereby allowing the presence of synthetic toxins. Get more information here.

Fair trade: This is another label you can trust–look for the fair-trade insignia on coffee, chocolate, clothing, toys and more. Fair trade does not only refer to the labor practices. Those who achieve this certification also subscribe to stringent sustainability standards. Fair trade is fair game for consumers. Learn more at www.transfairusa.org.

Shade-grown: A coffee certification offered by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the Rainforest Alliance that indicates the coffee was grown under a rainforest canopy (bird-friendly is another fuzzy certification that falls under this definition.) It’s not too clearly defined, though it’s a step in the right direction.

Cage-free: Generally a certification found on egg cartons, cage-free indicates that while the chickens aren’t caged, they don’t necessarily have any access to the outdoors.

Free-range: Here’s a little lesson regarding fowl play–while hens technically have access to the outdoors, there’s a hen hierarchy in place that frequently puts a “bully” chicken in charge of the door. This feathered gatekeeper may or more likely may not actually allow other chickens to get outside.

All-natural: According to the United States Department of Agriculture, this claim indicates that products are minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients. Most fresh animal products meet this criteria, regardless of how they’re produced. This claim is not third-party verified. In the case of cosmetics or personal care products, this claim is meaningless.

Made with naturally-derived ingredients: Equally meaningless.

Pasture-raised or grass-fed: This label generally refers to cows. The USDA recently approved a government-backed label for grass-fed beef, which is more nutritious and generally better for the animal. While it’s not too common to see this label referring to chickens, chickens with a diet supplemented by grass (they also need grain-based feed) produces eggs with a higher level of beneficial fats.

Forest Stewardship Council: The FSC certification applies to wood and wood products (such as paper) and s another respected third-party certification, though Ronnie Cummins notes that “there are problems.” Still, it’s considered preferable to Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Visit the www.fsc.org for more information.

Marine Stewardship Council: A relatively new certification program that aims to inform consumers which seafoods have been sustainably harvested. There are still some kinks to be worked out, says Cummins, but it’s better than conventional. Go to www.msc.org to learn more.

Ancient Forest Friendly: A Canadian certification program that aims to guide consumers toward paper products (books and magazines) that have pledged to print on paper that is not from Canada’s Boreal and temperate rainforests. Find out more at
www.ancientforestfriendly.com

Sweat-free: You’ll sometimes find this on clothing and sometimes it’s legit–and other times not. Another way to find sweatshop-free clothing is to look for the UNITE label (for the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) or for the fair trade label.

For more information and help, visit the Consumers Union site.

For more information or to subscribe at the introductory price of $10 a year, go to positivelygreen.com. Positively Green magazine launched in 2008 as a quarterly women’s magazine that covers every aspect of green from eco-friendly vacations to green fashion to green health. With articles that don’t just explain the problems, they outline solutions for busy people who want to make the change but don’t have the time to research solutions.