Jessica Alba’s Honest Company: A History of Ups and Downs
Jessica Alba got the idea for The Honest Company after realizing how many baby products contained petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances.
While pregnant with her and husband Cash Warren’s first baby, daughter Honor, in 2008, Alba suffered an allergic reaction after prewashing onesies with a mainstream laundry detergent brand. The experience led her to research the ingredients of other consumer goods for young children.
“I was shocked,” Alba told SELF of her findings in December 2011.”There are so many toxic chemicals — not just obvious ones like bleach — in crib mattresses and baby shampoo that are known and proven to be harmful to people’s health.”
The actress, who also shares daughter Haven, born in 2011, and son Hayes, born in 2017, with Warren, launched The Honest Company in 2012, with just seven products available at the time. The business quickly expanded to include a makeup and skincare line and was valued at $1.7 billion in 2015. However, Alba also faced her share of setbacks in the business sector.
Keep scrolling for a look at The Honest Company’s ups and downs over the years.
The Honest Company Launches
Alba and her cofounders, Christopher Gavigan and Brian Lee, launched the business in 2012.
During a February 2018 appearance on the CNN podcast “Boss Files With Poppy Harlow,” Alba recalled feeling “so alone” during the company’s early days.
“It’s tough when you’re the only woman in the room, in the boardroom,” she explained. “It’s not that they didn’t want to [add women to the board]. When you’re thinking month to month about your financial goals, and that’s more important than building a long-term vision and strategy, it’s just a different mentality on how to build something.”
Goop Gives The Honest Company a Bad Grade
In April 2014, Gwyneth Paltrow gave several of The Honest Company’s products a C grade in the Goop newsletter “The Dirty on Getting Clean.” She also gave the company’s stain remover an F rating.
“Many of the ‘clean’ products I proudly use (and have even touted on Goop) have turned out to be a product of marketing, rather than actually safe,” Paltrow, who founded her wellness and lifestyle brand in 2008, wrote at the time.
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Alba called Goop’s rating system “outdated” during an October 2014 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying “anyone [who] understands the science” would know that the mere presence of an ingredient doesn’t mean the products contain harmful levels of that ingredient.
“We never touted ourselves as being green. We just have nontoxic, highly effective products that are beautifully designed and affordable,” she added.
Early Success
In the summer of 2014, Honest raised $70 million from venture capitalists in preparation for an initial public offering, putting the company at a value of nearly $1 billion.
Backlash Against Honest Beauty Sunscreen
Consumers took to social media in August 2015 to share pictures of sunburns they allegedly received while using Honest’s zinc-based sunscreen.
“Don’t buy @Honest sunscreen unless u want to look like this. Second time I’ve tried this stuff and got fried,” one X user captioned a photo of themselves with a sunburnt chest.
The Honest Company responded to the criticism in a statement to Us Weekly.
“The number of complaints received on our own website about our Sunscreen Lotion constitute less than one half of one percent of all units actually sold at Honest.com,” the company said. “We stand behind the safety and efficacy of this product.”
Alba also addressed the controversy herself via Instagram.
“Protecting our loved ones and yours is the reason we founded The Honest Company. As parents, it pains us to hear that anyone has had a negative experience with our Sunscreen,” she wrote. “We develop and use Honest Sunscreen to protect our own children — Honor, Haven, Luke, Evie, and Poppy — at the park, in the pool, outside, every day. As with everything we do, we take sun protection seriously here at Honest.”
Alba added that consumers’ “trust and confidence” was of the utmost importance to Honest and noted that the team had “personally picked up the phone to speak with many of you” about the sunscreen concerns.
Honest Beauty Launches
A separate Honest Beauty brand with its own website and logo was launched in September 2015. The brand initially offered 83 products, which was scaled back to just over 40 in 2018.
“We’re streamlining everything so the line doesn’t feel overwhelming,” Alba explained to Allure in June 2018. “We just didn’t need all of those options. We cast a wide net.”
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Laundry Detergent Concerns
In March 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that Honest’s liquid laundry detergent contained a “significant amount” of sodium lauryl sulfate, one of the synthetic ingredients the company had pledged not to use. The Honest Company disputed the claims in a statement to Us at the time.
“Despite providing the Wall Street Journal with substantial evidence to the contrary, they falsely claimed our laundry detergent contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS),” the statement read. “To set the record straight, we use Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS) in our brand’s laundry detergent because it is a gentler alternative that is less irritating and safer to use. We stand behind our laundry detergent and take very seriously the responsibility we have to our consumers to create safe and effective products.”
Lawsuits
In April 2016, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) filed a lawsuit claiming that the company had falsely labeled its Premium Infant Formula as “organic.” The lawsuit further alleged that the product contained 11 synthetic products not allowed by federal law in organic products.
The Honest Company pointed out in a statement that the product had been FDA approved and contained at least 95 percent organic ingredients, per the USDA’s requirements for an organic label.
“This lawsuit should be taking up their disagreement over existing organic standards with the U.S. government, not with Honest,” the statement read.
A judge dismissed the OCA’s complaint in December 2016.
The Honest Company settled two additional lawsuits in June 2017, Reuters reported at the time. The first lawsuit was filed by Brad Buonasera, who accused the company of misleadingly marketing at least 41 items. He claimed that some of the products labeled natural contained synthetic and toxic ingredients.
The second lawsuit, filed in New York, also centered around claims of fraudulently labeled products. The Honest Company denied the claims in both lawsuits.
Alba argued during an August 2016 appearance on Today that her company faced more scrutiny due to her public persona.
“If an organization wants to bring awareness to their cause, I’m an easy target and our brand is an easy target, obviously, because I get a different kind of attention than other brands would. It’s just sort of what happens,” she said.
Jessica Alba Named One of Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women
Alba made Forbes’ list of the Richest Self-Made Women in the U.S. in June 2016. The magazine listed her net worth as $340 million, citing her 20 percent stake in The Honest Company, which was valued at $1.7 billion in August 2015 after raising $100 million in capital.
The following May, Forbes noted that Alba had lost her spot on the list, valuing her net worth at $200 million.
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The Honest Company Goes Public
Honest filed for an initial public offering in April 2021 and began trading on the NASDAQ exchange the following month. The IPO raised $412.8 million, giving the company a value of $1.44 billion.
Share Prices Fall
The Honest Company had a tough year after going public. In April 2022, stock shares were down to $4.52 a piece, compared to $23 per share the day of the IPO, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The outlet also reported that Alba’s stake in the company had fallen from $130 million to $30 million within one year.
Jessica Alba Steps Down as Chief Creative Officer
Alba surprised fans and loyal customers alike when she announced in April 2024 that she was stepping down as Chief Creative Officer of Honest.
“I will continue to provide strategic advice through my role on the board. While there would never have been an easy time to make this decision, I know we have a leadership team in place with Carla Vernón at the helm to advance our founding vision and strengthen Honest’s legacy as an industry change-maker,” she wrote via Instagram.
“Building Honest has been a true labor of love,” she continued. “From the first concept book I pitched to my friends in Mommy and Me class, to ringing the bell at Nasdaq with my family by my side – this journey has been the ride of a lifetime, one that only existed in my wildest dreams.”
