Jessica Alba's non-toxic household and beauty products business, The Honest Company, is being sued for "dishonesty."
Jonathan Rubin filed a class action suit in the federal court of California against Alba's company for allegedly making false claims that their products are "natural." He also said some of the products weren't effective. Some of the products the lawsuit targeted included dish soaps, surface cleaners, nappies, and the company's sunscreen. Rubin claims that some of those products have synthetic chemicals, making them not "natural" as reported by International Business Times.
Consumerist reported that the lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages. The complaint claims that The Honest Company promoted their company by systematically labelling its products as "natural" or "effective" since 2012. Through this promotional strategy, Alba's company can sell the products at a 10% to 20% premium. The complainant said they bought Honest's products instead of the cheaper ones because they were lead to believe that what they bought were "natural" and "effective." This makes the promotions of Honest misleading. Some of their products use Methlisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, and Sodium Polucrylate.
Jessica Alba said in a statement, "The allegations against us are baseless and without merit. We strongly stand behind our products and the responsibility we have to our consumers." According to a CNN report, Alba said she is proud for building the company into a business leader focused on natural ingredients and developing products consumers love. Earlier in 2015 it was under heat for its sunscreen products, which customers claim are ineffective. The company said it will "do what it takes to make it right." The consumers took to social media to express their discontent with the product, but the company is adamant, saying its sunscreen is effective.
Just weeks ago, the company was announced to be worth a whopping $1.7 billion. Honesty Company CEO Brian Lee said he is open for the lawsuit if other bigger companies would ban the 1,200 chemicals they do not use in their products.
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