Meet Product Manager Irene Kong

What do you love most about working at Honest?

There are so many reasons why I love Honest! If I had to choose, it would definitely be the people. I've worked in a number of different roles and industries prior to coming to Honest, such as in manufacturing, R&D, and even banking. But I've never worked with such a group of intelligent and passionate people as I have here at Honest! Not only are they fun to work with, but I feel like I learn everyday from them. Everyone truly believes in the mission of making healthier, safer products for families, and there's no better feeling than to walk into work knowing that I am surrounded by them.

What is your favorite product?

This isn't even a fair question — seriously! I have to choose at least two. I use our body oil everyday. It has a great light scent and is absolutely perfect for dry skin. I also love our wipes. The wipes not only clean, but they are extremely moisturizing. I actually use them in place of lotion sometimes when my hands are feeling dry (I kid you not!).

What is your most memorable Honest moment?

I was one of those people who used antibacterial hand gel all the time before starting at Honest. On my first day of work, Christopher Gavigan handed me his book, Healthy Child, Healthy World. I started reading the book and came across the not-so-fun fact that there could be up to 275 active ingredients in traditional antibacterial products classified as pesticides. I was putting pesticides on my hands, thinking that I was "cleaning" them!! Needless to say, I found all my my antibacterial bottles (trust me, I had many) and threw them out immediately.

How do you embrace the Honest lifestyle at home?

I always felt like traditional cleaning products didn't feel very safe, but I never did my research to confirm it. After starting at Honest, I learned about all the harmful chemicals that I could be exposing myself to. I threw out all the traditional cleaning items I've used for years, and replaced them with Honest cleaning products. Not only are they safe, but they work so well!

If you weren't at work, what would you be doing?

I just moved to LA from NY less than a year ago, so I try to force myself to explore around the area. I am also trying to get back into outdoorsy adventures, such as 5K mud runs or another skydiving trip, like I've done back home. Surprisingly, I haven't done any here with this amazing weather, but it'll eventually happen! I've been trying to get into hiking, but it's a little too slow and the city girl in me hasn't learned to enjoy it quite yet.

I am a huge football and basketball fan, so on weekends you will find me glued to a TV in my NY Giants jersey yelling at the top of my lungs. (And, no, I do not want to talk about their season so far. It's depressing!)

But, unfortunately, there are times when neither football or basketball are on. If that's the case, I'll do some leisure reading or catch up with my family. I am a huge science nerd, so naturally I am reading A Little History of Science by William Bynum.

On the weekends, I try my best to call my family back in NY as well. I am one of five kids (yes, you read that right) and very close to my parents and siblings. I am either on the phone with my mom listening to her latest shopping excursion, or Skyping with my 3-year-old nephew Maxwell about his new toys. The little man's latest favorite "toy" is the Honest Kid's Strawberry Toothpaste, which he carries around in his pocket (he can do no wrong in my eyes!).