The Honest Life: Living Naturally & True to You - My Notes on a Book

  When I began delving into the world of low tox, The Honest Life was one of the first resources I read. At the time, it was exactly what I needed: pretty, simple, informative. It is a great read for those new to green, low tox living while also being a good resource to refer to. 

This is a great gift idea for a new mum or a friend who is new to green living. Jessica Alba makes healthy, environmentally conscious living doable, fun and even stylish.

Becoming a mum often motivates women to create a healthier home and world for their children to grow up in. This was absolutely the case for me. It seems that it was similar for actress, Jessica Alba. As she began creating a healthy home for her kids, Alba realized there was so much misinformation and unsafe products on the market. She could not find safe and healthy baby and home products. This led her to create The Honest Company with two others. A few years later, she wrote this book.

She lets the reader in on her journey of discovering nasty ingredients in food, cleaning and beauty products. Alba struggled to ensure that the products she brought into her home or put on her skin were safe while not spending all her time and money on them, getting a less effective or less attractive product, or getting tricked by clever greenwash marketing. Her aim in this book is to help make others’ journeys a little smoother.

The book has seven main chapters focused on creating a safe, healthier, and more eco-friendly life. The topics covered include food, cleaning, style, home and baby.

Here are some examples of the useful information within The Honest Life:

-Why GMO foods and antibiotics in meats are not a good idea for you and your kids to eat

-What food additives to avoid

-Why fragrance, parabens and triclosan should stay out of your personal care products

-That phthalates, mercury and other harmful ingredients are often found in beauty products

-Lead is often found in red lipstick and kids' face paint

-Most chemicals being used haven’t been tested for human safety. They are assumed safe until proven otherwise. There are over 80,000 chemicals in the marketplace that we don’t know are safe or not. Crazy, right?!

Note: Some of the resources in the book for making low tox shopping easier are not super relevant for those living outside of America, but overall the information is pretty universal.

Pick up a copy of The Honest Life here. 

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