An app that tells you the health of the products you use

The Good Guide rates products and companies on a 0-10 scale (0 being the worst for you and 10 being the best) based on various factors the company judges to calculate the rating, such as if the products are safe to consume and the companies are socially responsible.

The app's interface looks just like the web site - only on a much smaller scale. You can type in the name of the product to see its rating, or you can search by category to find the best of a certain type of product you are looking for (such as sunscreen). But by far the coolest feature of the app is the barcode scanner.

The scanner allows you to use your phone's camera to scan an item you are curious about. Once it has scanned the item, it will automatically pull up its rating.

So, for example, when I was recently looking for a new sunscreen for my toddler, I was feeling completely overwhelmed in the baby aisle. Which brand did I want? Which of the sunscreens had more natural ingredients?

I grabbed a bottle, flipped it over to find the barcode, scanned it, and up popped its rating: a 4.5 out of 10. Not bad, but not great. I moved on. When I found one that was a 7.7, I knew that was the one I was taking home.

Finding out all the data on the companies' green practices, the chemicals in the products, and the processes involved in making the products would have taken me hours at home doing all sorts of research. With the scanner, it took about two minutes.

Once you find the product you are looking for, you can see alternatives to that product, which is helpful if your store doesn't have the EXACT brand you want. You also can see a list of ingredients, and you can read about what made up the product's positive or negative rating.

I highly recommend this app for someone looking to learn as much data as they can about the products they use in an easy-to-digest way.