Jessica Alba’s Honest Company Uses Toxic Ingredients, Class Action Says

The Honest Company, a health and personal care products company co-founded by actress Jessica Alba, misleads consumers by labeling its products as natural even though they contain toxic ingredients, according to a class action lawsuit filed last week in New York federal court.

Plaintiffs Brad Buonasera and Manon Buonasera filed the deceptive labeling class action lawsuit against The Honest Company, claiming the personal care company charges a premium for products that purportedly include all natural ingredients.

“Ironically, Honest’s products are not so honest after all,” the Honest Company class action lawsuit says. “Instead, Honest’s products are a chemical soup, containing substantial array and significant amount of ingredients that are synthetic – some of which Honest even admits are synthetic, and many of which are federally classified as toxic substances.”

According to the natural products class action lawsuit, The Honest Company labels its products as “natural,” “all natural,” “naturally derived,” “plant-based,” and/or “no harsh chemicals, ever!” In reality, the plaintiffs argue, these products “contain a spectacular array of synthetic and toxic ingredients.”

The Honest Company class action lawsuit points to the company’s blog, which explains that some of its ingredients are synthetic. For example, the company claims that phenoxyethanol, a chemical included in its laundry detergent, “can be found naturally in green tea, but the commercial ingredient is synthetically produced in a laboratory creating what’s termed a ‘nature identical’ chemical.”

Although The Honest Company admits phenoxyethenol is a synthetic ingredient, it fails to inform consumers that the chemical is toxic under federal law. In fact, animal testing has shown the substance is toxic to the liver, kidneys and nervous system, and can be lethal in small doses, according to the Honest Company class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs claim they purchased The Honest Company’s Conditioning Detangler and Shampoo + Body Wash products because they relied on the labels that indicated the products were “natural.” According to the natural products class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs would not have purchased the products if they had known they contained harsh chemicals.

The Buonaseras filed the Honest Company class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a Class of New York consumers who purchased Honest Company products that were allegedly deceptively labeled. They include a list of more than 40 products made by The Honest Company, which allegedly contain more than 70 synthetic ingredients—some of which are toxic, despite the company’s “no harsh chemicals” promise.

The Honest Company class action lawsuit charges the natural products company with violations of New York business law, unjust enrichment and breach of warranty.

The plaintiffs are represented by Yvette Golan of the Golan Law Firm, Kim Richman of the Richman Law Group, Todd S. Garber and D. Gregory Blankinship of Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP, and Beth Terrell and Samuel Strauss of Terrell Marshall Daudt & Willie PLLC.

The Honest Company Deceptive Labeling Class Action Lawsuit is Buonasera, et al. v. The Honest Co. Inc., et al., Case No. 7:16-cv-01125, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: On July 6, 2016, The Honest Company argued for dismissal of a consumer class action lawsuit over whether certain “natural” products are deceptively labeled.

UPDATE 2: On July 19, 2016, plaintiffs continued to urge the judge not to dismiss the Honest Co. mislabeling class action lawsuit.

UPDATE 3: On June 30, 2017, Jessica Alba’s The Honest Co. Inc. agreed to pay $7.35 million to settle four class action lawsuits accusing it of falsely marketing its products as “all natural.”

UPDATE 4: The Honest Company mislabeling class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 5: On Feb. 26, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers who filed a valid claim for The Honest Company mislabeling class action settlement started receiving checks in the mail worth as much as $210.25.