Rarely do consumers get the whole truth. We are constantly inundated with marketing ploys and goaded into buying things that supposedly will make us look younger or feel better. While we often listen without questioning the source, it is time to look more closely at some of the agendas that affect your purchasing habits.

Recent research has uncovered a tangled web of non-profit advocacy group with a public relation "ring leader" playing spider. On several fronts--mostly those related to the environment or your health--these groups, have executed a series of "scare campaigns" whose success plays on consumer fears and emotion. These groups have names that you might trust and equate with good causes. But they deceive. Who would have thought that "non-profit" could mean "big profit?"