Interview with Jessica Alba

It's been 10 months since Jessica Alba and Christopher Gavigan launched The Honest Company, an eco-friendly and toxin-free baby products and household items company. If anyone thinks that the actress is just the face of the company who only shows up to draw attention to the products and then goes back to her Hollywood life, they'd be sorely mistaken. The company is truly the brainchild of the mom of two — to Honor, 4, and Haven, 1 — and she takes personal pride in its success.

The company will launch its newest styles — purple leopard and green-and-gray lumberjack patterned diapers — and latest product — a trio of lip balms for mom — on GiltKids.com tomorrow afternoon as part of the company's first sale on the site. We joined Gilt Groupe, Jessica, and Christopher at Honest's offices to discuss the brand, the new products, and what moms really want in their products. And come back tomorrow for the rest of our conversation about Jessica's seamless transition from actress to businesswoman, and the products her kids like best.

Moderator: So we were talking a little bit about the partnership with Gilt; what made you want to partner with them? How did that come about?
Jessica Alba: I just think it's a great site. I love a good deal myself as a mom, and I love that they have a curation of the best in class. So because we're the best in class, and it's also a very stylish site, I just thought it would be the perfect place to have an exclusive partnership and launch our most fashionable two designs.

Moderator: And how did you decide to step out with these particular new products? What was the reasoning behind that?
JA: We have tons and tons of designs and they fall into the category of traditional, sort of whimsical, and kind of edgy. I feel like parents have kind of fallen into a couple of those categories, if not all three. I know I do, and so depending on what kind of mom you are, you're obviously going to be attracted to the different designs. So we had about 10 per category, and we went out to parents and they pulled their favorites and then everyone here at the office. That's how we end up with our designs — people choosing it.

Moderator: So the things that Gilt's launching, are they an extension of items you already have?
JA: So we already have these, and these are our boy options, and these are our girl options, and so what I was saying is this is the edgy girl option; this is the whimsical and this is the more traditional. For whatever reason, the sweets and the skulls are the ones that everyone talks about, so when our moms post on our Facebook, or whenever anyone takes a photo of their babies in our diapers, they love showing them in our edgiest designs, so we felt that would be the best to launch with Gilt Groupe. We have the highest absorbency than any other diaper on the market, conventional or eco, and then we have obviously the edgiest and coolest designs. And no other company allows you to pick and choose. If you're part of our monthly delivery program you get to pick and choose what designs you want, so you're like, "Oh, I really love lumberjack, but I also love the skulls and I love the anchors," and so you can get all of that in your monthly package if you want.

Keep reading to see what Jessica Alba says about the company's first product for moms.

Just call her supermama. As if having a baby and launching The Honest Company weren't enough to do in one year, Jessica Alba recently announced plans to write her first book, too. The actress and mother of two — Honor, 3, and Haven, 7 months — hopes to share some of the tips and tricks she's learned about motherhood, as well as her methods for creating an eco-friendly and toxin-free environment in her home, with other modern moms who are busy trying to juggle it all.

I spoke with Jessica about her version of healthy living, why we always spot her wearing scarves, and the best trick her own mama taught her about motherhood.

On her forthcoming book about honest living:
"It's what I've learned along the way through trial and error — things that are actually attainable and applicable to me and to my life. I'm not growing organic vegetables at my house and picking them and feeding [them to] my family. I'm a working mom, so for me, it was easier to use disposable diapers. I do the best I can. I make my kids organic food, but I'm not the extreme. I think a lot of people probably fall more in the category where I fall — we want the best for our families, but sometimes we feel like it's too hard and it's too unattainable to go all the way and grow a garden and do that. So where's the happy medium? The book's going to be a very simple handbook on little things you can do that add up and make a big difference."

On sharing new mom tips:
"From room decor to making meals for the week to simple beauty recipes that my grandmother passed down to me made from things that are in your pantry . . . through trial and error, I've figured a few things out, and I'm sure other people have to. So [I'm] putting them together in a very simple, easy-to-read, colorful book. I also want it to be if you only have 10 minutes, you can walk away with something. It's like, what do you pack in your diaper bag that's easy — do you even have a diaper bag? Maybe you just carry a large purse. Maybe you use your purse instead of buying 50 different diaper bags knowing that your purse will probably go better with your outfits. So how do you pick a diaper bag that's neutral and will go with everything? And what do you really need in that diaper bag? In the beginning, I was stuffing my child's entire nursery into the diaper bag and breaking my neck and was like, 'Oh, wait, I forgot my wallet. What's going on?'"

On wearing scarves:
"I wear scarves, mostly because it's an accessory that can dress up an outfit, so you're not just wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. But it's also because if my baby has an accident — and I'm holding the baby — I can cover that accident up! So I'm not walking around with a big puke stain or poo stain on my shirt! Knowing that I don't have time to go home and change, and really, I don't have the space, time, or capacity to pick out five different changes of outfits for my car — it's enough to remember my baby's change of clothes. I have funny little stories about how I learned that lesson [in the book]."

Keep reading for Jessica's thoughts on letting Honor play with the iPad, Jessica Simpson's baby shower, and the importance of the mom community.

Where are busy moms supposed to turn when they want to create a healthy environment for their families, but don't have the time or the money to be running around town to get all the products they need? Believe it or not, they can now look to Jessica Alba to get the goods! The actress and mother of two — Honor, 3, and Haven, 7 months — recently gave birth to her third child, The Honest Company, a subscription-based, eco-friendly, and toxin-free baby-product and household-item company with Christopher Gavigan, the former CEO and author of Healthy Child, Healthy World. Though best known for her onscreen work in Fantastic Four and Dark Angel, Jessica's giving herself a bit of a career makeover, and I spoke with her about her new venture. Check out the highlights of our conversation below, and come back tomorrow for the rest of our conversation — including details about her upcoming book and her thoughts on the toughest part of motherhood.

On the current state of eco family living:
"For me, I felt that as a parent, it was confusing to filter through the clutter of what was truly eco, what eco meant, was it the packaging, or is it because of the ingredients that are inside. The greenwashing confusion for me as a parent was tough. Then there's a company that does a great detangler, and another company does a great shampoo, and another company does a great floor cleaner, and then another company would do a great dish soap. I would have to go to literally a minimum of 10 different brands — and they're all distributed in different places — to put together my house. And the other thing, unfortunately, is the price point for most of it is outside of what most people can afford. Just when it comes to the social injustice of, you can't really create the safest and most healthy home for kids unless you make a certain amount of money. Everyone should have access to healthy and safe products."

On why she wanted to start The Honest Company:
"It was a combination of wanting it all from one company, it all being really truly eco [and] healthy, and then it all being affordable. I've [also] found that when companies did take the time to do the right formulations, there's really no attention paid to beauty and the aesthetics of it. So when you look at it on the shelf next to a company that does pay attention, if it was eco, it was a green leaf, or it was beige, or it was oatmeal-colored. I'm a modern, colorful person and I like beautiful things. If I'm going to be changing my baby's diaper all day — which I am — or I'm going to be using household cleaners, I'd really like it to be aesthetically pleasing, if it can."

Keep reading to see where Jessica gets her design inspiration and where the company may expand next!