On September, 3, 2015, Jonathon D. Rubin, filed a 29 page, Class Action Lawsuit against Alba’s Honest Company for $5 million. Rubin claims in the lawsuit that “The Honest Company, Inc. (“Defendant” or “Honest”) deceptively and misleadingly labeled and marketed its products, including the following “five” Honest products: Honest Hand Soap, Honest Dish Soap, Honest Diapers, Honest Multi-Surface Cleanser and Honest Sunscreen (collectively the “Products”) as both natural and effective, when in fact Honest Hand Soap, Honest Dish Soap, Honest Diapers and Honest Mulitsurface Cleaner contain unnatural ingredients and Honest Sunscreen is ineffective”.
The Today Website post’s about Jessica Alba’s lawsuit stating that other consumers have shared on social media, via twitter, pictures of their skin being sunburned by an ineffective Honest’s sunscreen. The two photos below are from the Today’s website from the link above.

Brandon Atherton @bdatherton
Brandon Atherton, from Colorado, tweeted on June 1, 2015, “@Honest this is my very real result from Honest 30 SPF sunscreen. Only spent 1 hour outside. Burnt. #nothappy”

Lindsay Marshall @LindsyMarshall
Lindsay Marshall @LindsyMarshall from Michigan, tweeted on July 25th, 2015, “Don’t buy @Honest sunscreen unless u want to look like this. Second time I’ve tried this stuff and got fried.”
Some of the other pictures I have seen of upset customers unsatisfied with Honest’s sunscreen tend to have the same skin type as both Brandon and Lindsay. All of them have a skin type I, which is extremely sensitive to sun rays and it is very easy for them to acquire a sunburn compared to other people with higher levels of skin types.
In no way do I find Honest to blame for an ineffective sunscreen. I believe consumers need to be more educated and aware of what certain chemical and physical properties can do on the skin.
Reading through the ingredient list of Honest’s, Honest Sunscreen Lotion, I found that they did everything right when it came to creating their product. They chose a Non-Nano Zinc Oxide for their sunscreen protection. This is THE ONLY PHYSICAL SUNSCREEN that is both THE BEST for a physical sunscreen. Because of this chosen ingredient, in no way is it going to be able to rub into the skin and leave the skin without a white film. THIS IS A NON-NANO Zinc Oxide, the best physical property to protect the skin and because it is not altered to a nano-sized molecule, because it is left in its NATURAL form, it can leave a white residue.
The other ingredients listed are from a compounded oil collection consisting of: Coconut Oil, Vegetable Oil, Sunflower Oil, Olive Oil, Apricot Oil, and Jojoba Oil. Every single oil they listed contains the very important vitamin of vitamin E. Vitamin E is a healer to the skin along with adding great moisture to the skin. Coconut Oil, on its own, has sunscreen properties within its own, natural chemical makeup.
To me, the Honest company created the most “Natural” form of a sunscreen for their consumers. As I was reading the comments listed under the Honest Sunscreen Lotion, within the wording of the comments even gave proof to the uneducated consumers on their ideas of sunscreen. Meghann W. wrote, “I have been using your amazing sunblock on my two daughters (ages 3 and 1), myself, and my husband all summer and we love it…” Meghann W., used the term sunblock.
The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) changed the terminology of skincare for the consumers. Since June of 2011, companies were no longer able to use the term “sunblock” in fear of consumers believing that the word “block” would give the idea that their skin would be blocked from sun rays. They changed the word to “sunscreen” because this way consumers would understand that sun rays could still filter through a “screen”. That is why a you will not be able to see a product with the word “Sunblock” anymore. That is why skincare companies use the term sunscreen because they know that sun rays are very powerful and in no way can their product “Block” any sun rays from hitting their consumer’s skin.
It is very unfortunate for Jessica Alba and her company, Honest, to be going through this lawsuit filed by Jonathon D. Rubin. They have done their part in providing an ethically sound product that has been “Certified Organic” which is not an easy process. I hope the courts favor in Alba’s favor and let this be an eye-opener to consumers. The way in which a product is applied, the activity performed, the amount of time spent in the sun, the skin type, the metabolism of each individuals body causing it to sweat pushing the product off of the skin, the elevation in which they live, their exists too many variables for a defective consumer, not a defective product.
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