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.
"Our findings support that there is a significant amount of
sodium lauryl sulfate" in Honest's detergent, said Barbara Pavan, a
chemist at one of the labs, Impact Analytical. Another lab, Chemir,
a division of EAG Inc., said its test for SLS found about the same
concentration as Tide, which is made by P&G. "It was not a
trace amount," said Matthew Hynes, a chemist at Chemir who
conducted the test.
Honest disputes the labs' findings and says its own testing
found no SLS in its products.
"We do not make our products with sodium lauryl sulfate," said
Kevin Ewell, the company's research and development manager.
Honest's business goes well beyond the detergent, which is the
only product the Journal examined. The company, which has raised
more than $200 million from private investors, sells more than 100
varieties of products. It has developed a loyal following among its
customers, and its line of diapers and other baby-focused products
have been particularly popular with young mothers. It sells
products online, but also enjoys shelf space at Target Corp. and
Costco Wholesale Corp.
Honest said its manufacturing partners and suppliers have
provided assurances that its products don't contain SLS beyond
possible trace amounts. Honest provided the Journal with a document
it said was from its detergent manufacturer, Earth Friendly
Products LLC, that stated there was zero "SLS content" in the
product. Earth Friendly in turn said the document came from its own
chemical supplier, a company called Trichromatic West Inc., which
it relied on to test and certify that there was no SLS.
Trichromatic told the Journal the certificate wasn't based on
any testing and there was a "misunderstanding" with the detergent
maker. It said the "SLS content" was listed as zero because it
didn't add any SLS to the material it provided to Earth Friendly
and "there would be no reason to test specifically for SLS." It
said the product in question "was fairly and honestly represented"
to its customer.
Honest said it didn't deal directly with Trichromatic and
declined to comment further on the certificate. Earth Friendly
reiterated that it relied on Trichromatic to test the
ingredient.
Honest also disagreed with the methods used by the Journal's
labs, and said the labs tested against a sample of SLS that isn't
the type used in consumer products. Both Chemir and Impact
Analytical said they stand by their test results, used the most
precise method for quantifying SLS in a consumer laundry detergent
and followed standard scientific guidelines.
P&G said it had "no issue" with the level of SLS the tests
found in Tide.
Ms. Alba, who is Honest's chief creative officer in addition to
co-founder, declined to be interviewed for this article. Her
attorney Bert Fields said, "Jessica Alba and the folks at Honest
truly believe that their detergent is free of non-trace SLS and
have been assured of that by their suppliers."
While Honest has trumpeted its lack of SLS as a way to
distinguish its products as safer than rivals', there has long been
debate about whether SLS is harmful. In its pure form SLS can cause
skin rashes, but many consumer products companies including
P&G, Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Seventh Generation Inc. have
vouched for its safety when used in their products. SLS is widely
used in part because it is inexpensive and creates a foamy lather
as it cleans. It is also sometimes used in pill coatings to help
medicine dissolve after being swallowed.
In Ms. Alba's 2013 book, "The Honest Life," she lists SLS as a
"toxin" that consumers should avoid. She started Santa Monica,
Calif.-based Honest in 2011 after she said she had an allergic
reaction to a popular brand of laundry detergent.
Honest uses an alternative cleanser in its detergent called
sodium coco sulfate, or SCS, which the company says is less
irritating and a different compound from SLS. "We have evidence
that our laundry detergent contains SCS, not SLS, and any
contention to the contrary is wrong," Honest's general counsel,
Craig Gatarz, said in a letter.
More than a dozen scientists interviewed by the Journal said
SCS, which is made from palm or coconut oil, is a mixture of
various cleaning agents that includes a significant amount of SLS.
Chemicals manufacturer Stepan Co., one of the country's largest
suppliers of SLS and SCS to the consumer-products industry, said
SCS contains SLS.
"The general process of making sodium coco sulfate would have
sodium lauryl sulfate in it," said David Andrews, a senior
scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that
researches chemicals in consumer products.
Honest said SLS isn't a component of sodium coco sulfate. Janet
Blaschke, chief executive of International Cosmetics &
Regulatory Specialists LLC and a scientific adviser to Honest, said
SCS and SLS are recognized globally as distinct and unique
chemicals. "Sodium lauryl sulfate is refined in a way that sodium
coco sulfate isn't," she said.
During the Journal's reporting, Honest made changes to wording
on its website, including revising the description of its "Honestly
Free Guarantee." It used to say its products are "Honestly free of"
dozens of ingredients, including SLS. Now it says the products are
"Honestly made without" those ingredients. Honest also removed
claims that other companies use "risky" or "toxic" ingredients that
it doesn't use.
When asked about the website changes, Honest co-founder and
Chief Product Officer Christopher Gavigan said they were to help
clarify, educate and accurately represent the company's position.
He said in a December meeting that Honest was also changing its
product labels to match its website and had no plans to reformulate
its detergent.
Honest doesn't make most of its products. Its laundry detergent
is manufactured by Earth Friendly, a Cypress, Calif., company that
also makes and sells detergent and other cleaning products under
its own brand, Ecos.
The lab tests for SLS commissioned by the Journal found Ecos
detergent contained significant amounts.
Earth Friendly said its detergent contains sodium coco sulfate,
not SLS. "Conducting testing to break up molecular chains to show
that one substance 'contains' another creates an inaccurate
representation of the science," said Amber Enriquez, Earth
Friendly's general counsel.
Rival Seventh Generation lists SLS as an ingredient in its
laundry detergent, including a variety made for sensitive skin, and
lists sodium coco sulfate as an ingredient in its hand wash. It
says both cleaning agents have the potential to irritate skin but
are safe when products are formulated properly. "In all
practicality they act and behave as the same chemical in consumer
products," said Tim Fowler, Seventh Generation's senior vice
president of research and development.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 10, 2016 17:25 ET (22:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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