Jessica Alba's Honest Company Settles Dishonesty Lawsuit for $1.55 Million

June 9, 2017

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Summary: The Honest Company has agreed to pay $1.55 million to settle a false advertisement lawsuit.

Jessica Alba’s Honest Company branded itself as a safe alternative to the alleged toxic junk being sold to families by big brands. With cute packaging, a celebrity face, and a compelling backstory, the company that sold everything from sunscreen to diapers was evaluated at $1 billion. However, consumer watchdogs claimed the Honest Company was nothing like its name, and Alba’s brand was hit with a slew of false advertising lawsuits.

Recently, the Honest Company settled one of the lawsuits, according to TMZ. It agreed to pay $1.55 million to settle claims that its soaps and cleaning products contained a chemical that was advertised to not be present. According to the lawsuit, the Honest Company marketed its products to be sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)-free, but in actuality, that ingredient is found in each items’ formula.

When first confronted in March of 2016, the Honest Company had said they were SLS free and their detergent actually had a chemical called Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS), which can be derived from coconuts or synthetically. The plaintiffs countered that SCS was composed of SLS, and the Honest Company learned an important and expensive lesson in science.

The class-action lawsuit settlement will go to all consumers who feel that they were misled by the company’s claims, and they can submit for a check or Honest Company credits.

“Under the Settlement, Class Members will be allowed to make claims without proof of purchase for Product purchases of up to $50.00. Class Members with valid proof of purchase will be able to file claim for purchases in excess of $50.00,” the court documents said.

The Honest Company has also promised to fix its marketing problems, and they stated that they have already worked on reformulating their products to fix the issues.

Jessica Alba, 36, rose to fame in the 1990s when she was a teenager thanks to roles in Camp Nowhere and The Secret Life of Alex Mack. A few years later, she starred in James Cameron’s TV show Dark Angel, and she appeared in other hit films or television shows such as Sin City, Never Been Kissed, and Fantastic Four soon after.

Alba has two children with her husband Cash Warren, and she said that being a mom inspired her to form the Honest Company. She reportedly has a net worth of $340 million.

The Honest Company was formed in 2011; and by 2014, they had $170 million in sales, thanks to their claims that their household items were eco-friendly and hypoallergenic.

While things had appeared to be smooth sailing for the first few years, the brand was hit with controversy in 2015 when people complained that the Honest Company’s SPF 30 sunscreen caused its users to burn. Later, in 2016, they were hit with the SLS lawsuit as well as a baby formula complaint.

In April 2016, consumers sued Alba’s company for claiming its Premium Infant Formula was “organic” when it too contained synthetic substances. However, unlike the soap lawsuit, the baby formula complaint was dismissed.