(MONEY Magazine) – With so many families like the Baldwins (see the accompanying story) searching the supermarket for environmentally friendly goods, many companies are using marketing pitches that have an ecological spin -- sometimes with only modest justification. Take the case of the plastics used for bags, packaging and disposable diapers. These days you'll find many such products marked with the word degradable. Example: on Hefty's 30-gallon trash bags (about $5 for a box of 20), the buzzword appears in bold half-inch yellow print next to a picture of an eagle soaring over a pristine forest. In fact, though, Hefty's bags are photodegradable. That means they break apart after prolonged exposure to sunlight. Trouble is, sunlight is scarce deep in landfills, where many such bags end up. Likewise, biodegradable plastics, including those used by American Enviro Products to make Bunnies disposable diapers ($9.40 for a box of 44 medium-size), are formulated with corn starch or other additives that are supposed to make tasty snacks for microorganisms. But the environmental group Greenpeace charged in March that while the additives do biodegrade, the plastic itself does not -- and thus may still clog the ecosystem. A spokesman for American Enviro denies it. Until the controversy is settled, an alternate solution might be to use items made from truly biodegradable materials like cloth or paper, such as the 30-gallon paper trash sack at right. A package of 20 costs $12.95 by mail order from Seventh Generation. Below is the company's address, plus a sampler of other ecologically conscious mail-order houses and publications.

Catalogues: -- Seventh Generation (49 Hercules Dr., The Meadows, Colchester, Vt. 05446; 800-441-2538; free catalogue). A gazeteer of environmentally sound products from water-saving faucet aerators to dioxin-free baby wipes. -- Co-op America (Order Service, 49 the Meadows Park, Colchester, Vt. 05446; 802-655-2975; catalogue: $2). Put out by a national environmental group. -- Ecco Bella (6 Provost Square, Suite 602, Caldwell, N.J. 07006; 201-226-5799; free catalogue). Emphasizes personal-care products and cosmetics. Books: ! -- Shopping for a Better World (Council on Economic Priorities, $4.95). Rates 1,800 supermarket products and their makers. -- Save Our Planet by Diane MacEachern (Dell, $9.95). Helpful suggestions for everything from recycling to conservation. -- 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth by the Earth Works Group (Earthworks Press, $4.95). That title says it all.