Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

The next time you're in the grocery store, your smartphone can help you pick the greenest, safest foods and other goods.

How? With the free GoodGuide app for Apple or Android phones. Just use your phone to scan a product's barcode and let the app do the rest. GoodGuide maintains a database of "health, environmental, and social performance ratings" for more120,000 products, including foods, personal care items (shampoo and makeup, for example), and household products (such as cleaners and detergents).

You can even personalize the results so the app delivers information that is targeted to the issues that matter most to you. For example, if you're concerned about the environmental impact of the products you buy, you can weigh that more heavily. But if you're passionate about not supporting companies that test your products on animals, you can make that your most important criteria.

One neat feature of this app is that it doesn't just show a single product at a time. If you scan a product and you decide not to buy it, you can ask get alternatives with the touch of a button. You can also build shopping lists for now or the future, or even create a list of the brands you choose to stay away from. There's even a social aspect to the app, allowing you to share the information and your buying decisions on Facebook or Twitter.

Obviously, GoodGuide won't include every product under the sun, but don't worry, they take suggestions (You can also vote on products that other people have submitted to increase their likelihood of being reviewed.)

There are an awful lot of choices out there, and picking the right products isn't always easy. GoodGuide is a pretty darn good solution.