Noooooo, Jessica Alba. Say it isn’t so.
Honest Company — co-founded by Alba and Christopher Gavigan — is a brand beloved by parents willing to pay a hefty premium for natural, chemical-free, nontoxic lifestyle and baby products. There’s just one problem: Honest Company can’t seem to keep up its end of the bargain.
The company just voluntarily recalled all bottles of its organic baby powder in the U.S. Why? It’s not pretty: Recent reports of eye and skin infections from microorganisms found in contaminated bottles.
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“With the full knowledge and under the guidance of the FDA, we’ve decided to voluntarily recall this product out of an abundance of caution,” Gavigan said on Wednesday. The baby powder, hailed as a natural alternative to traditional baby powder, has been sold in stores since April 14 and comes in 4-ounce containers. (We’ll give you a minute to check your medicine cabinet.)
This isn’t the first time Honest Company practices and products have caused unwanted scrutiny of the brand. In 2015, social media was abuzz with complaints about the ineffectiveness of the company’s sunscreen, with many consumers outraged that their kids had been burned to a crisp while wearing the product. If that weren’t bad enough, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed serious concerns about Honest Company’s detergent. There’s more: The company was involved in a lawsuit that claimed the Premium Infant Formula contained at least 11 synthetic ingredients — making the product decidedly not organic. (To be fair, that lawsuit was dismissed by the court, although the decision is being appealed.)
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Alba is involved with numerous charities, most notably Safer Chemicals Healthy Families. Her co-founder, Christopher Gavigan, is the former CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World, a national nonprofit “empowering parents to protect their children from toxic risks.” We’re wincing at the irony.
Hopefully, this is the last misstep for Honest Company — which scored Alba a place on Forbes’ wealthiest self-made women list in 2015. Alba’s net worth topped Beyoncé’s in 2015 at $340 million compared to Bey’s then-$250 million. Who knew that organic baby powder had such star appeal? (Sorry, Bey.)
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