Celebrity Jessica Alba’s Honest Company is not only standing behind its sunscreen, but also playing down complaints from customers who have posted pictures of their children’s sunburns on social media to show they believe the products do not work.
That’s a bad move, PR pros said on Twitter on Monday.
In a statement, Honest told Today on Monday morning that gripes about the lotion, which it said has been tested by an independent third party in line with Food and Drug Administration protocols, "[are about] less than one half of 1% of all units actually sold at honest.com."
The company added that it "stands behind the safety and efficacy of this product."
Honest Company prides its eco-friendly baby products as being "not only effective, but unquestionably safe, eco-friendly, beautiful, convenient, and affordable."
PR pros on Twitter quickly panned Honest’s handling of the situation.
Honest Company's shaky "less than 1% of 1%" PR strategy = see ya moms. http://t.co/TFJ204UeTU pic.twitter.com/Kzmcc5exH3
— Molly McPherson (@MollyBMcPherson) August 3, 2015
@Honest Read about the Sunscreen and I saw your statement. Not very honest of you, should work on you PR relations. http://t.co/1ViFju2yfy
<3 a="" href="http://twitter.com/Honest" data-mce-href="http://twitter.com/Honest">@Honest & hate to see the backlash. They need a way less reactive and more empathetic PR statement though.
— malorie (@malliegator) August 3, 2015
@Honest need to learn PR. Problem with a product? Say sorry. Take it down. "We stand by blah blab blah" does not work. #sunburn
— Lisa Hendrikson (@lhendrikson) August 3, 2015
Well this isn't good PR: http://t.co/PcTYaZbQij
— Rachel Eldridge (@racheleldridge) August 3, 2015
Customers say Jessica Alba's Honest company sunscreen doesn't work. Guess the company isn't that honest http://t.co/mQhlQLXTOE
— Jessica Gillespie (@jessilespie) August 3, 2015