Costco Connection - June 2013

The Honest Company
supplier profile

Jessica Alba and team redefine the family brand
By Hana Medina

AFTER EXPERIENCING an allergic reaction from baby detergent, Jessica Alba— actress, activist, author and mother of two— became increasingly concerned about the ingredients in typical household products. Wanting to create the healthiest home environment possible for her family, Alba began researching toxic ingredients and interviewing acclaimed doctors. The information she discovered rattled her.

“It felt like I was making so many compromises to give my family the healthiest options, and I was sick of making compromises. I felt that other families shouldn’t have to make compromises either,” Alba tells The Connection.

She turned to Christopher Gavigan, father of three and former CEO of the nonprofit Healthy Child Healthy World. The two began developing a brand free of harmful chemicals that was not only effective but also affordable. In January 2012, with the aid of Brian Lee, CEO, and Sean Kane, COO, The Honest Company ( www.honest.com) was born.

“Children today are getting sick in epidemic proportions—asthma, allergies, autism, learning and behavioral disabilities, cancer—and there’s credible science linking [products with] certain chemicals and ingredients that we’re bringing in our homes … that are harming our children. We think it’s a reality that needs to change,” says Gavigan.

The family-centered brand offers baby products, household cleaning agents and per-sonal-care items through its website. The products are free of sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, chlorine, formaldehyde, solvents, para-bens and a slew of other potentially harmful ingredients. The Honest Company sources as much “natural, organic, sustainably harvested, renewable, pure raw materials” as it can, with the aim of making its products 100 percent sustainable and plant-based, according to the company’s health and sustainability standards.

Since the company’s
inception, its products
have received rave re-
views and awards
from publications
and parent groups across the U.S. Starting this
month, Costco warehouses will carry The
Honest Company’s best-selling two-in-one
shampoo and body wash, in a bulk size made
exclusively for Costco members.

So what’s next for the young company? Gavigan says, “We’re really responsive to

[customers’] needs and building the products
that they want. We are in active development
of a lot of new categories as well as some
branded partnerships. But we just won’t make
products because we can. We have to have a
big impact on the household, the family and
the child specifically, and the home.”
Regardless of which products consumers
use, Alba encourages parents to “read labels
and know what you’re bringing into your
home. You can get information on our blog,
and that’s free. There’s a lot of takeaway from
our company that’s out there for everyone to
access, just by going on our blog and being
part of our [online] community.” C
SUPPLIERPROFILE

Company: The Honest Company

Founders: Jessica Alba, Christopher Gavigan, Brian Lee and Sean Kane

Employees: Approximately 90

Address: 2700 Pennsylvania Ave.

Suite 1200, Santa Monica CA 90404

Phone: 1-888-862-8818

“Costco is the first major chain to carry our products, and we’re super proud of them being an initial launch partner,” Gavigan says. “Right now, the focus is to be hyper-selective with those relationships and only have a handful.”

Email: support@honest.com

Website: www.honest.com

Item at Costco: 2-in- 1 Shampoo + Body Wash

—Christopher Gavigan

Comments about Costco: “We [met with] the Costco team and we were thrilled, kind of pinching ourselves.

The partnership [has been] incredibly collaborative ... the Costco team has been really special to work with.”

some of those risky substances that are traditionally found in the conventional and sometimes green brands,” says Gavigan, now chief products officer for The Honest Company.

The Honest Company doesn’t conduct animal testing, its buildings are powered 100

percent by renewable energy sources, and it is also a Certified B Corporation, a rating given only to companies that meet social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards.