The Honest Company co-founder is launching a line of pads and tampons.
Jessica Alba's got pads. Lots and lots of pads. Tampons too. That's because after two years of development and testing, The Honest Company is launching today a line of feminine care products made with 100-percent GOTS-certified organic cotton. Alba spoke to Cosmopolitan.com about the launch, her business, and which of her daughters likes to cuddle more than the other.
What brings you into this realm of feminine care products?
It really is about giving people healthier and safer options, to live the best life they can. This is one category that's very sensitive. The products are going in and around the most vulnerable part of a woman's body.
An average woman can expect to have 450 periods in her lifetime, use over 11,000 pads or tampons in her life, and roughly 84 million people in the U.S. alone are getting their periods every month. So just thinking about how much this can impact peoples' day-to-day life, to me, just seemed like a great opportunity.
I wanted to give people a real, viable alternative, but something that's also good for the planet and good for her. And, the packaging is super cute. The way that I designed the packaging, it looks like it could be an artisanal chocolate or an expensive candle.
Did helping to make all of these advancements in the feminine care space make having your period a more pleasant experience for you?
You know what? Having peace of mind is all I ever really want. Not having to worry or think twice about it. So now I know: I have an option where I can feel good, and I'm not exposed to potentially toxic and harmful chemicals that are in conventional tampons and pads. No synthetic fragrances, no deodorants, artificial dyes, phthalates, pesticide residues, chlorine or chlorine dioxide processing, no GMOs, no glycerol tricaprylates. There's lots of insane things that you cannot pronounce that are in a lot of products and we chose to not put them in ours.
Were there other things you wanted to do with feminine care products?
Like, stop women from having their period? How about that? Let's not go through that!
I wanted to speak more broadly about the platform that you have now, given the success of The Honest Company, this platform from which you can talk about being an empowered woman business leader. Are there policies at The Honest Company that speak to those values of feminism that you espouse?
Feminism is just equality. That's exactly what it is, if you look it up: It's giving equal rights to every other person on the planet. We're all about equality at this company. We encourage people at every level at the company. We invite innovation. We're all about good ideas and we're all about collaboration. We encourage that here.
What about the benefits specifically?
I have a nursing room that I made here at the office because I know from when I was nursing my kids that it's challenging to find a clean and safe place to nurse or pump. We have maternity and paternity leave for any employees for as long as they feel like they need it. We have great benefits, we're a B-certified corp — you should look up what B-certified corporations are. That sets the bar pretty high on the way that we treat our employees and the way that we run our business.
What have you learned about being a boss?
I've learned a lot about trusting my gut, collaborating. It seems like there's always a lot of opportunities and there are a lot of good ideas, but [I've learned about] trying to funnel that into actionable items and things that we could realistically execute on. I've learned a lot about marketing and just about how integrity in product really goes a long way. That, at the end of the day, markets itself. People love to share, and tell their friends and their family about something that they love.
What's your style as a boss?
I get right to the point. That's just the way I am. I don't dance around problems or issues. I just face them straight on. That's just the way that I am in life and the way that I am in business. It's how I am in acting, in entertainment. I think that's what set me apart: I wasn't wishy-washy. I can make decisions quickly. If there's a challenge or a problem in front of me, I tackle it head-on. That's the way that I am here at The Honest Company. I don't think business is an emotional thing. I think that it's more of a practical and logical thing, and it's about problem-solving.
So does that mean you never cry at work?
I've definitely cried at work. It's just circumstances, depending on what's going on in my personal life. It usually has nothing to do with work. It's usually something that has to do with my life at home.
Yeah, of course it's OK.
You've said in the past that you learned how to hustle from your mom. Do you feel like you're passing those same lessons to your daughters?
Probably. I think the best example I can set for them is just doing it and they can see for themselves. They see me going to work every day. They saw me going from having an idea to actually building a company. They see the fruits of my labor. I think that, more than anything, probably will impact them.
Do you think they're aware of the growth of the company? Do you involve them?
They come to the office. They remember when I was in a studio office building. One room downstairs, two rooms upstairs. They remember when I moved to a 3,000-square-foot office and we expanded to 6,000 feet. They saw us move to this office, I think we're at 28,000 square feet in this office. They've seen the growth over the past three years with their eyes.
When do you know that you need to turn it off, and take time for yourself and your family?
I spend the mornings with my family. And then the kids are in camp in the summer and during the school year, they're at school during the day. I try to get home for bath time. Read books with them, cuddle them. Last night, we had an impromptu dance party. I try to be as present with them as possible when I come home. I see them before they go to bed at 7 o'clock.
Yep! Really good. They love their sleep. And then, yeah, I usually start my night at 7:30 or 8. I go to sleep if I have an early workout or I have dinner with my husband or watch a movie with some girlfriends or something.
Do you think you'll be ready for when Honor gets her first period?
No. I'm not ready for her to start second grade.
She's in the perfect age zone right now, when they're the most loving, lovable people.
Honor is not as loving as Haven. My 3-year-old's way more loving. Honor's really not trying to hug me or cuddle me, unless Haven is trying to cuddle me. She's always been that way though, since she was a baby. She's always been independent. I wasn't a cuddly kid either, my mom tells me. But I remember cuddling my grandma a lot, so I don't know. Honor is really cuddly as long as her sister is on my lap.
Haven's just a mushball. There's nothing that she likes better in her life than being cozy and sleeping. She says, "I just want to be cozy and asleep." I'm like, "You've had 13 hours of sleep! How could you possibly need more sleep?"
Yes. She is like a cat.
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