Web 2.0 Conference: GoodGuide App for iPhone and iPod touch Will Change the Way Consumers Shop

SAN FRANCISCO — November 6, 2008 - Millions of people looking to buy safe, healthy and green products now have the perfect tool to help them make better choices while they are in stores. The GoodGuide app for iPhone and iPod touch gives consumers fast, easy, mobile access to the world's largest and most reliable source of health, environmental and social performance information of personal care and household products — from baby shampoos to bathroom cleaners.

"GoodGuide makes it easy for you to find safe, healthy and green products whether you are at home or on the go," said founder Dara O'Rourke. "Our new application will give you peace of mind in the checkout line by giving you instant access to product ratings while you are actually in a store deciding what to buy."

The key to GoodGuide, which won rave reviews and a Jury Prize at the prestigious start-up conference TechCrunch 50 last month, is that it offers not only an unprecedented amount of valuable information, but information where and when shoppers need it most. Mothers, for example, can find out which brands of shampoo and soap are safe for their children through a quick online search from their computer or their iPhone or iPod touch. People can also create or view shopping lists online or on the go.

GoodGuide currently offers ratings and detailed product information for more than 61,000 everyday household and personal care products. In the coming weeks and months, GoodGuide will release similar product information for food, toys and electronics. In addition to GoodGuide's own recommendations, users will be able to screen products based on what matters most to them. For example, some people will want to avoid products tested on animals, while others might believe those same products are safer for people.

O'Rourke, a professor at UC Berkeley, developed GoodGuide with fellow experts from Harvard and MIT as well as tech talent from Google, eBay, Amazon and Intuit. The idea was born when he discovered the sunscreen he put on his 5-year-old daughter had a toxic ingredient. He realized that we know very little about the products we bring into our homes and to our families 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 help consumers navigate companies' increasingly common marketing claims about their products being healthy, safe or green.

O'Rourke is also partnering with well-known health, environmental and social nonprofits to spread the word about GoodGuide. Natalie Cadranel of Healthy Child Healthy World said, "We know first hand that parents are hungry for reliable information to ensure that the products they buy are safe for their children. We believe GoodGuide is just the tool they need because it's so comprehensive and easy to use."

"GoodGuide helps consumers make better choices by putting a world of product health and safety expertise into the palm of their hands," O'Rourke explains. "Our hope is that as more and more people express their values in the marketplace, companies will make more of the stuff people want and less of the stuff they don't."

The GoodGuide app is now available as a free download from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

About GoodGuide
GoodGuide™ strives to provide the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of products and companies. GoodGuide's mission is to help consumers find safe, healthy, and green products. With its origins as a UC Berkeley research project, GoodGuide has developed into an independent "For-Benefit" company. GoodGuide is committed to providing consumers the information they need to make better decisions, and to ultimately shift the balance of information and power in the marketplace.