The Honest Co. is being accused of being dishonest. Oh, the irony.
A customer recently filed suit against the eco-conscious company — which was founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and focuses on nontoxic baby and home care products — alleging that The Honest Co. is misleading consumers with false claims in the marketing and labeling of its products.
A $5 million lawsuit filed by Jonathan Rubin in Northern California District Court claims that many of The Honest Co.’s “natural products,” including its hand soap, dish soap, multisurface cleaner and diapers, actually contain “unnatural” ingredients, including a synthetic preservative and synthetic surfactant (chemicals that break up soil), ABC News reports. The suit also claims that the Honest sunscreen is “ineffective.”
Now consumer Michael Shane has filed a new $5 million class action suit against The Honest Co. alleging that its sunscreen is ineffective because the company changed its original formula — without notifying customers — effectively removing more than half the zinc oxide the product contained, according to a report on People.com. The lawsuit included several pictures of adults and children who it alleges were sunburned after using Honest Sunscreen Lotion with an advertised SPF 30.
The lawsuit states that The Honest Co. “should have known its representations regarding Honest Sunscreen’s sun protection characteristics were untrue and misleading.”
Alba has called the lawsuits’ allegations “baseless and without merit,” ABC reports.
“I created The Honest Co. to give people access to safe and effective products, and we are committed at The Honest Co. to make sure that we use the safest and most effective ingredients,” Alba said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “We’re also committed to continue to educate our customers on how best to use our products.”
Alba has promised to launch a safe-sun education program so Honest customers understand how Honest Sunscreen Lotion works and how to properly apply and reapply it to protect the skin, according to the magazine Us Weekly.
Despite the pending lawsuits, The Honest Co. just released its Honest Beauty line, which is made up of natural skin care and makeup products.
Do you use Honest products? What do you think of the lawsuits filed against the company? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.
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