Doesn't sound like Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow will be joining forces anytime soon. On Friday, April 25, the recently uncoupled Paltrow fired off a GOOP dispatch from Hong Kong. This week's installment of her lifestyle newsletter/website, entitled "The Dirty on Getting Clean," is all about safe, non-toxic and environmentally friendly cleaning products—and at least one item from Alba's own lifestyle brand, The Honest Company, gets a bad grade. "Many of the 'clean' products I proudly use (and have even touted on goop) have turned out to be a product of marketing, rather than actually safe," Chris Martin's future ex-wife wrote.
Deferring to Gregg Renfrew of skincare and cosmetics company Beautycounter as well as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) for expert advice on which products are truly safe and which ones aren't, Paltrow, 41, writes: "I will never give up my perfume, but maybe I can switch to greener and unscented laundry detergent, and remove some of the hand soaps I thought were great until I checked them on EWG.org . . . Food for thought."
The lengthy post then goes on to explain the hidden hazard ("80% of the chemicals in personal care products have never been tested for safety," Renfrew says), all of the health risks involved, and then lists dozens of products and their "grades" as provided by EWG.
In the "What We Were Using" list is The Honest Company's All-Purpose Cleaner, which was given a "C" by the EWG. EWG.org notes that Alba's product "May contain ingredients with potential for acute aquatic toxicity; respiratory effects; nervous system effects," and similar products from the Method and Green Works brands get a "C" and "F," respectively.
Fellow actress/aspiring lifestyle guru Alba seemingly threw more direct shade at Paltrow last March while promoting her book The Honest Life: Living Naturally and True to You, she sniffed of Paltrow's advice to moms and other women: "Gwyneth Paltrow probably lives a very similar lifestyle, but I didn't grow up with a bunch of money, so my tips are much more grounded: repurposing things and making things at home," she told the New York Daily News.
