News about the lawsuit against The Honest Company shocked many parents who are devoted users of the celebrity-owned line—but for some, it comes as no surprise. Actually, industry insiders say that it’s about time for some honest exposure.
The accusation brought against the company alleges that the sunscreen as well as other products in the line do not live up to their marketing claims. The suit follows hundreds of complaints from parents who applied the sunscreen on their children, as per directions, but wound up with sunburns anyway.
Their response is not to be confused with a personal attack against co-founder Jessica Alba or her brand. Rather skin care specialists like Jordan Pacitti view the lawsuit as a call for greater transparency in an industry that not only conceals blemishes, it also conceals the truth about what’s lurking inside products.
“No wonder we see so many reactions and sensitivities. People have no idea what they are really using,” said indie brand owner Jordan Pacitti.
According to this former dancer turned esthetician and founder of Jordan Samuel Skincare, Jordan believes that calling out The Honest Co. is finally taking a step in an honest direction.
His experience formulating skincare gives him a concrete understanding of what goes into a product—and what actually winds up on the label.
Did you know MOST water based extracts (I’m not talking about oil infusions here) are preserved with either parabens, phenoxyethanol, or sodium benzoate, among others,” he said. “These preservatives in botanical extracts don’t need to be on a label. For botanical extracts those ingredients are not part of the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) list.
So Green tea extract can be on a label with its Latin name and then translated—and that’s it!—when the actual formula could contain water, glycerin, green tea extract and parabens/phenoxyethanol/sodium benzoate, etc. A lot of companies will include these ingredients but most will not. We NEED full transparency—green or otherwise.”
Celebrity-endorsed lines are nothing new. Large brands strategically place famous personalities at the helm because it creates a level of trust between the company and the consumer—one that could take years to establish otherwise. That’s also why celebs become the face of ad campaigns in the media. It’s a savvy business move but doesn’t mean that the company will live up to its promises or, well, act with honesty or integrity.
Jordan believes consumers identify with the public personality and want to buy the product because of an “if it’s good for a celebrity it’s good for me” attitude that does not make sense. He said:
I do believe that celebrities have the best intentions. I really do. But sometimes when their history is not in the personal care or home care industries they don’t know what they are getting into. Or aren’t in the trenches as much to know every little thing that is being put into a product. The same can be said for any small or large beauty company.”
Unfortunately, a celebrity lending their name to a line doesn’t prevent greenwashing—or the false claim of being natural. It’s a dirty word in the green beauty world that’s fairly common when it comes to widely circulated brands that orient themselves as “natural.” Consumers may want to be using healthier products, but end up being duped by confusing marketing claims.
Those claims create an image that can be misleading.
Greenwashing lowers the standards of the green beauty industry and confuses an individual who is trying to make the best decision for their health,” said Jordan. “But I think we have gotten to a place where more and more people are becoming educated and clearly know what is good and what is not. It’s not foolproof. But we are getting there.”
While a professional dancer, Jordan battled skin issues that compelled him to start creating his own formulas long before he founded a skin care line. It also led him to switch careers and become a facialist to help others in similar distress.
His standards for his line have remained the same from the outset:
I truly believe that if you stand behind your message and are completely authentic (and transparent) people will seek you out and keep coming back time and again regardless of competition and regardless of budget. Authenticity is key. Always has been. Always will be.”
When asked how consumers can protect themselves, Jordan says that reading and understanding a label often isn’t enough—particularly since labels are not required to list all the ingredients. Your best bet? Finding a product line, therapist, blogger, and/or educator that you trust and staying the course.
His other recommendation: a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to every product line because when it comes to skin care, there is no magic bullet.
Skin is amazing but products aren’t magic. If there was a magic bullet, we would ALL have it, and I would certainly be selling it.”
Now that’s a healthy dose of honesty that this blogging mama is happy to swallow.
For more, check out: The Ugly .01% Secret of Active Ingredients in Skincare by Blissoma founder and chemist, Julie Longyear.
Crazy people! Never met a product which gave allergies to nobody in the world. There will always be people allergic to even the purest priduct in the World. and Honest never claimed that their Sunscreen will protect from burns even if the kid in on the sunshine the entire day ( which i notice alot on the beach- put a layer on kids skin and then Let him go nuts all day. Of course he will burn eventually. Dah! I used Honest sunscreen and never got even the tiniest burn.
I’m glad that you had a good experience with the line, Natalia. The object of the post was not to question the efficacy of the sunscreen, but rather to ask for greater transparency from companies–particularly ones that market themselves as being honest. Thanks for your comment!
I had no idea about botanical extracts and preservatives- if I see green tea extract on a label, how are we meant to know how it’s preserved? why can’t brands just be transparent? What bothers me is some celebrities just don’t care and advertise anything just for money
Those extracts can also be preserved in alcohol as well, and not disclosed. But not all extracts listed singularly are preserved questionably. If there are oils in the formula, the herbs can be extracted through through oil. Like Jordan said, it has everything to do with the transparency of the company. A brand could extract their herbs in glycerine and it might be gmo corn or synthetic glycerine and you won’t know, AND they might not even disclose the glycerine… does that make sense?
They can’t be transparent because the don’t care. Celebrities do it for the money yes, but a lot of celebrities who blindly do campaigns for Revlon and Cover Girl for example are just ignorant to what they are really promoting.
Josh, you would surely know the insider info as a formulator too. I’m sure that sourcing pure ingredients is no easy task yet it’s clear how careful you are in your selection process. Kudos to you and Jordan for maintaining your integrity and priorities and putting your money where it counts–not on using a celebrity name to sell your products–but rather on using ingredients that have an integral function, purpose and purity within the end product. That’s why your loyal fans love you–and I am one of them! XO
I think the more educated a consumer is, the more they realize that a celebrity endorsement doesn’t mean much. As for labeling, surely the consumer has a right to know what’s in the products that they’re using. I agree with you that there is no way for us to know other than continuing to support the brands that we trust who share the same priorities. XO
Full transparency needs to apply to ALL brands green or not. I’m now used to deciphering labels and will often see “aqua” as ingredient but then I see no preservative listed so question. Most people assume (what should be rightly) that what is on the label is what is in the bottle and trust that. Even more difficult is that you can’t tell from the label how the ingredient is extracted or even what quality it is so that’s where I Iook to brands I trust (and even there unless certified you ultimately have to take their word for it…..) Even certification is not 100% guarantee (ie until recently phenoxythanol was permitted up to certain levels in organic products in EU).
Ultimately as exhausting as it can be (!) as consumers we have to take responsibility for ourselves and not rely on marketing to make our informed decisions.
It’s a tedious task but eventually the reliable brands stand out. Thanks for you input, Lynda.
wow. Thanks for this. As a soon to be mommy, I was looking into this brand a lot. thanks for the warning. xoxo
This!! I couldn’t agree more with everything you’ve written Sarita, and kudos to Jordan Samuel for sharing his wisdom. Personally, I’ve never been interested in their products – because I’m not in the US and I guess I’m busy trying other brands ;-), but I have to admit that this whole sunscreen fiasco doesn’t help. The class action going on is not because the CEO is Jessica Alba, it’s because people genuinely experienced discomfort and issues with a product and that is never okay. Honest Co. is obviously not the only company lacking transparency but since they get so much media attention, they’re now serving as a “cautionary tale”. Until we get to a point where everything is properly labelled, my approach is simple: when I’m not sure, I don’t buy. Xx
Thank you for writing this. I look forward to when full transparency is required and a given. Even if the Feinstein Personal Care Act passes next year, we won’t be much closer – so we are such a ways off. The best advice was Your best bet? Finding a product line, therapist, blogger, educator that you trust and staying the course. – and I trust you. Thank you Sarita! Hero On!
Unfortunately, the Feinstein Personal Care Act proposes the registration of ingredients that are already required by law to be disclosed on product labels. Built-in redundancy. As for labeling requirements, there are many loopholes; not listing preservatives for water based extracts is certainly one. Not listing fragrance components in a skincare product is another. This grey area was ultimately what impelled me to create botanical extracts in house. Ultimately, companies have to be accountable. Which reminds me . . . this is a great time to revise those ingredient decks and flesh out my INCI labels! Thanks for drawing attention to this issue.
Thank you for your insider knowledge, Maggie! Your contribution to the discussion helps us make informed choices. XO
Such a well written article Sarita! For me personally the companies I most trust are the ones who began with a dedicated “maker” who created and grows the brand with strong core values and standards. In other scenarios, one person having an ideal of the products they want someone else to create for them (or a celebrity endorsing) has nothing to do with the creative or formulating process. It becomes about revenue and huge growth. I’m not sure it will ever be possible to have enough oversight to ensure that all companies are honest with their labeling and to have trained people monitoring, so I agree that it really is all about relationships and trust. Thank goodness there is lots of that!
Such a learning process! It really is like studying another language to understand the ingredients on a label. I’m slowly learning and becoming more familiar. Does anyone have any book recommendations that would help me in this process? I do own the Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel, but any other recommendations would be appreciated!
My problem with Honest is not so much the figurehead of Jessica Alba. From interviews I have read, she seems actively involved in the day to day running of the company. We haven’t seen too much of her as an actress these days, further indicating her level of involvement with Honest. I do think they offer a number of good products, especially the diapers. When they were released, they filled a big hole in the market, and I was happy to have them! The problem for me has been the speed with which they have brought so many products to market, across so many categories. With a vast number of sku’s introduced in just a few years, some of them are bound to be sub-par, whether they are labelled transparently or not. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this trial, that’s for sure.
Thanks for your insight, Abby. Happy to see you here! New releases in rapid succession definitely would give me pause too, although when a company has financial backing behind it, I imagine it’s a lot easier than the smaller green businesses that take more time. Then again, they also take more time to be scrupulous in sourcing ingredients, and I don’t know too much about The Honest Company’s criteria for using top quality ingredients. I wonder what is happening with the suit. I haven’t heard much, but I’d be curious if it had merit too. XO
Great article. I’m really surprised that most beauty bloggers chose to stay out of this and not comment on it. And I was really disappointed to see a favorite blogger of mine hyping The Honest Company’s new makeup line—-just a couple of days after it was in the news for being sued:( I think this is huge news and it will be interesting to see the fallout, and see if more legislation is passed on what is natural and safe skincare.
Sarita – thank you for your post. I’ve been an avid user of Honest products since my now 2-year old son was born. While we experienced minimal issues with the efficacy of the sunscreen (probably minimal since we limit his time in the sun), my concern is certainly the issue with botanical extracts and preservatives… I had no idea.
Do you have an opinion of the other Honest products? We regularly use the conditioning detangle, healing balm, diapers and wipes. Assuming the concern with the botanical extracts and preservatives are the same for these products, do you have recommendations of better, healthier products?
Many thanks,
Annette
Hi Annette!
Thanks for your comment. My take on the Honest Company is that they are among the cleaner versions and that you’re in good hands. I wouldn’t worry about them, but the points raised certainly are reasons to look deeper into a company and not take marketing at face value. If you’re happy with them and they’re performing nicely for you and your family without any issues, then keep using them. They are definitely better than the regular supermarket options. It has been a while since I’ve been on the market for diapers and wipes but I remember liking some of the brands at Whole Foods. You may also want to look into the Skincando products for babies (she did tons of R&D on creating her final formula for the Combat Ready Balm that was used with high acclaims on U.S. troops in desert conditions). I hope that helps! XO