Jessica Alba__ is one hot mami on the move. Sure, she could've settled for the jet-setting life of a Hollywood superstar–she definitely has the looks, charisma and skill to do it–but no, she decided to take on a really important issue that affects every single family and baby in America. Most of us don't even know how many household toxins we are exposed to, much less the gross stuff that is hidden in everyday products for babies, but the sad reality is that many of the major, trusted household brands out there for kids have nasty chemicals that can seriously do our little ones harm.
Jessica is on a mission to make products that are made without any of these accessible for normal moms with her new project, The Honest Company, named after her adorable first daughter, Honor.
"This became an important mission for me out of necessity," she told us. "When I was pregnant with my first child, I obviously was seeking out the best products for my baby and I found that I would constantly buy products from Australia and Europe and go to different health stores just meet my basic needs."
She immediately realized that if this was difficult for her, it must be nearly impossible for other moms, so she decided to do something about it. "I just felt like it was too difficult, even for me and I had all the time and all the access to the information!"
Jessica didn't think it was fair that so many moms may be using products that were unsafe for their children. "It was just too time-consuming, it was so expensive, and then there's the plain and simple social injustice aspect knowing that [this lifestyle] is outside of most people's price range."
You might think that starting her own company was as simple as sharing her idea and having someone buy in, but it took Jessica years of hard work and research to get The Honest Company off the ground. Part of the difficulty for her was convincing people to invest in a company that was so multi-faceted. "I guess the way people go about business is to do one thing really well and then you can expand after that," she mused, "But parents don't have just one need, you know, it's beyond just doing one really good laundry detergent or dish washing soap or diaper."
Jessica told us one of the most important things she learned from launching the company was that starting a business is "Not easy. At all." But she refused to give up and just a few short months after giving birth to her second baby Haven, she gave birth to her first e-commerce company.
Other moms aren't the only ones who are going to benefit from Jessica's new line of non-toxic eco-friendly products. She says she's really glad that her daughters can see her hard at work in the factory in Santa Monica, where they come to visit her regularly. "There's such a small percentage of women that are in positions of power, so I think it's good for my children to grow up with a mom who is in business because for them, that's all they know and it's a good example–it sets the bar."
I couldn't agree more!
Embedded content: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-xt-GUgU1U
Image via Honest Co
