For consumers concerned about the sustainability of products they buy every day, there's a new resource to help them choose brands. GoodGuide maintains a huge database of information that helps the site rate over 60,000 products on safety, health and sustainability. Additionally, the site provides users with expert advice and tools to find better products and make shopping lists.

GoodGuide began as a research project at the University of California, Berkley. Dr. Dara O'Rourke, a professor at the university got the idea from the sunscreen he used to protect his five-year old daughter. He researched the product and found it contains a toxic ingredient. According to the GoodGuide website, "At that moment, Dara realized how little we know about the products we bring into our homes every day, and that other parents should have the same access to product information that he and his fellow researchers had. He also wanted to solve the problem of increasingly confusing marketing claims regarding whether products were actually healthy, safe or green."

The site is currently in beta — it's available to any consumer who wishes to use it, but there may be a few bugs to still work out. Overall, GoodGuide provides an easy-to-use resource for buyers not entirely sure what the chemical makeup of their toothpaste actually means.

Image — GoodGuide