Good Weight

When it comes to buying a gift for that hard-to-please person on your shopping list, gift cards may be the perfect solution. They are convenient and popular and many people view them as the next best thing to cash. A University of Georgia expert warns, unlike cash, gift cards can expire and lose their value.
“Different [...]

The September 2009 issue of Wired includes a test of four top Web-ready TV sets. On a scale of 1-10, the sets scored as follows:
Excellent, with room to kvetch.
Sony KDL-46Z5100
7) Very good, but not quite great.
Samsung UN46B8000
LG 47LH50
6) A solid product with some issues.
Panasonic TC-P42G10

Complaints about cars, homes and credit the top concerns of consumers across America in 2008, according to a survey of state and local consumer agencies. Debt collection topped the list of the fastest growing complaints.
Following are the complaint categories that most frequently appeared in the agencies’ top ten lists. Their ranking in the top ten [...]

Walmart has announced plans to develop a worldwide sustainable product index for evaluating the sustainability of products.
“Customers want products that are more efficient, that last longer and perform better,” said Mike Duke, Walmart’s president and CEO. “And increasingly they want information about the entire lifecycle of a product so they can feel good about buying [...]

Manufacturer’s coupons are increasingly available online. They can be printed at home and used at most stores.
Look first at the manufacturer websites of your favorite brands. Many print-from-the-web coupon sites are also available, offering coupons from dozens of manufacturers. These issuers often have a cap on the number of coupons they distribute, so its a [...]

As seen on TV: ShamWow! towels are touted in advertising and infomercials as a super absorbent and long-lasting alternative to sponges and paper towels.

Consumer Reports recently pitted a ShamWow! costing more than $2 against a 14-cent sponge in a series of tests and found that the sponge was just as absorbent and effective at mopping [...]

Automakers sold some 308,000 hybrid vehicles in the U.S. in 2008. Part gas motor, part electric motor, these vehicles are the source of some confusion. They are not electric cars, they do not plug in to electric outlets to recharge, and they are not a “new” invention. Fact is, hybrid vehicles have been around for [...]

A Consumer Reports test of toilet papers wipes away some misconceptions about the cost of strength and softness.
While Quilted Northern Ultra Plush ($0.29 per 100 sheets) topped the tests in both categories, store brands like Costco’s Kirkland Signature and Wal-mart’s White Cloud were almost as good for about half the price.
Cottonelle Ultra ($0.37 per 100 [...]

There more “natural” products on grocery store shelves these days, but in most cases the word “natural” has little meaning.
According to the Mintel Global New Products Database, which monitors the appearance of new household products, a whopping one-third of all new U.S. food and beverage products in 2008
highlighted claims of being “natural” or “all natural,” [...]

From sipping water from a bottle after a workout to microwaving a container of leftovers for lunch to giving the baby a bottle of milk, we use plastic every day and usually without a thought about its potential dangers.
Numerous reports suggest, however, that exposure to bisphenol-A — an organic compound present in many food and [...]