I was introduced to Jessica Alba and The Honest Company a little over a year ago. In fact, Beau was only about 6 weeks old and he got to come with me to the launch event hosted by MomTrends.
He’s been wearing The Honest Company‘s diapers ever since, not to mention several of their products have been in our daily routine since then as well. Particularly since we’ve moved to New York City-where the majority of my family raising has been done so far-we’ve been making conscious decisions to better take care of ourselves and the environment, and making the decision to go with the Honest Company is a part of that.
We try to eat mainly organic whenever possible, and strive to incorporate non-toxic, environmentally friendly products into our routines as well. Some of these changes have been more challenging than others; Sometimes in our pocketbooks and others simply in convenience. All of them have been taken in stride though, and I’ve felt so much better each time we make a more responsible decision.
This happens to be the exact message that Jessica Alba wanted to convey with the writing and publishing of her new book, The Honest Life. It is an easy read encyclopedia of sorts for making more eco-concious and natural decisions in everyday life.
“It was really hard to navigate through the world of what “eco-friendly” really meant and what mattered and what didn’t.” Alba says. “I care about the planet, but I care about my kids more, and I care about myself more. I felt like a lot of eco and green companies were selling me this promise that it was eco and green, and I thought it was healthy for me but it was just the packaging was better for the planet. I hated the brainwashing. I felt like I was compromising so much on performance and so this book breaks down the information into layman’s terms. It makes it super easy to understand what you’re trying to avoid, choices you can make, and helps you make an educated choice on what you’re purchasing.”
We chatted for a while about how her life changed and in what ways when she decided to make different decisions. Amongst the most prominent, reading labels. “I never read labels before” she said. “I wasn’t ever interested in reading them until I had kids I have to make better choices. I wanted this book to exist because everything I was reading was so extreme. I didn’t want to live off the grid, I didn’t my house to be beige and cream, and I don’t want to be vegan. So throw all that out the window-what’s the balance? There is a balance. I want high performance and I expect it not to be toxic. I want it to be beautiful and I want it to be authentic. I don’t want our lives to reflect anything that’s generic. So how do you hone in on your authentic style for your family and make better choices.”
The pages are filled with lots of easy to read and find information, not to mention beautiful photos and stories. I’m far too busy lately to read anything cover-to-cover, so this has been a great way to grab a tip or two as I need them and flag them for later.
“Take from it what you will, take baby steps. Read labels-that was a big thing for me, a life changer. And take your shoes off at the door. This book is meant for picking up a section that you care about, flag what you like, share it with friends, add to it. That’s what it’s for. It’s meant to be drawn on, doodled on, folded down… Like a guide book”.
I loved chatting with Jessica about her inspiration behind writing the book and her experience. She is lovely and relatable, and doing some pretty great stuff in the world-and that is refreshing.
I was not compensated in any way for this post.
I think making little changes make a huge difference. I turn off and unplug everything (except major appliances, and such) and it’s become such a habit I don’t even think about it. Reading labels is tough because lots of things are advertising natural ingredients but that doesn’t mean they’re actually any healthier for you or better for the environment it’s all about how its marketed!
This is such a nice post… Thank you, Jessica. We became more conscious when we became parents as well: reading the labels was never a habit before. This to say that I am hoping that we are teaching our children to make better choices and have healthy habits from the get-go and not wait until they themselves become parents. We still have a bit to go, but we are getting there, ie, in living the “honest life”. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried the Honest Company’s products yet. I will 🙂 Thanks, again.
Hey now,
Great stuff.
Hex.
I am so glad you wrote this! I am due with our first in July and had all but decided to use Honest diapers. My friends with kids use more “traditional” brands, so I was a little hesitant just because I didn’t know someone who used and loved them. Reading this – and that you’re using the diapers with Beau – just confirms my decision. Thanks, Jess!
Would absolutely love to read this book but I can’t afford it ,I recently had my 2 back surgery ,I have been out of work since November of 2011 but I love Jessica alba and her opinions on different things
Thank you Jessica Shyba for a very refreshing article. It is inspiring to feel the emotions that you express in your words.
Jessica Alba is so insightful, and her words are so real and new each time I read pages from her cherished book.
The way her own life has improved, in what she instructs others, is so lovely to feel the care she wants to share. It actually increases the readers self-worth.
Parents that have a better self-worth, will naturally pass that on to their little love ones.
It certainly is fun to share all the topics in her book, and it makes for lots of productive conversations, and it’s awesome that in those conversations; there’s no room for argument or debate.
🙂
Robert Soto Coral in Los Angeles.
Would love just to have a talk with other women and like minded women. <3