Sanctimoniously Environmental “Honest Company Inc.” Is Dishonest

(p. A1) In less than four years, the Honest Company Inc. surged to a $1.7 billion private valuation thanks to its marketing of cleaning supplies, diapers and other consumer products that it says are safer and more ecologically friendly than other brands.
The company, co-founded by actress Jessica Alba, is challenging giants such as Procter & Gamble Co. and Clorox Co. with a guarantee that its offerings don’t contain what it says are harsh chemicals found in many mainstream products. One of the primary ingredients Honest tells consumers to avoid is a cleaning agent called sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS, which can be found in everyday household items from Colgate toothpaste to Tide detergent and Honest says can irritate skin. The company lists SLS first in the “Honestly free of” label of verboten ingredients it puts on bottles of its laundry detergent, one of Honest’s first and most popular products.
But two independent lab tests commissioned by The Wall Street Journal determined Honest’s liquid laundry detergent contains SLS.

For the full story, see:
SERENA NG. “Trendy Detergent Caught in Spin Cycle.” The Wall Street Journal (Fri., March 11, 2016): A1 & A2.
(Note: ellipsis added.)
(Note: the online version of the story has the date March 10, 2016, and has the title “Laundry Detergent From Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. Contains Ingredient It Pledged to Avoid.”)

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