When a celebrity attaches his or her name to a product, be it vodka, a fragrance, or baby clothing, you wonder just how authentic it is – or if it’s simply part of a large branding strategy. Does having an associated celebrity name mean the item is somehow superior than, say, the standard item? While, at least in terms of fashion, the relationship gives the product an initial edge, it wears off at some point – particularly when a star’s power drops.

Jessica Alba is one of the more recent stars to attach her name to a product. In the past, we saw a proposed baby clothing line from Snoop Dogg and David Beckham, onesies sporting a quote from Kate Moss (“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”), and baby sheets from Saved by the Bell and 90210 actress Tiffani Thiessen. Alba, on the other hand, is introducing a line of eco-friendly diapers and other baby products under The Honest Co. Making its first appearance last week, Honest.com, the company’s website, started offering nontoxic, eco-friendly diapers, biodegradable baby wipes, and organic bath and skin care products.

For an actress who starred in television show Dark Angel and more recently in the Fantastic Four and Machete, such an endeavor seems odd; yet, in an interview with the New York Daily News, Alba talked about getting a rash after using baby-safe detergent. Upon researching the ingredients, she found that many weren’t organic, and while she found some truly eco-friendly baby items here and there, they were difficult to come by. To the newspaper, she explained:

“It was exhausting. I had a baby, I was working. I didn’t have time to go everywhere. And I get it. Everything has a green leaf on it or brown or beige. I’m like, just because it’s eco why does it have to be brown, beige, or have a green leaf on it?”

The Honest Co.’s eco diapers are not only nontoxic, but they also come in colorful patterns and are affordably priced. Aside from her new line, other green baby products can be found through Rattlecake and Dada Baby Boutique.

You’d think that, with all of the coverage surrounding celebrity babies even before they leave the womb, Victoria Beckham’s baby shower would have been covered in the news sooner. Yet, news of her May 7 baby shower didn’t hit the tabloids until May 16 – even in the U.K., where Beckham and her soccer player husband are far larger celebrities than they are in the U.S. Perhaps the paparazzi are far more concerned with Mariah Carey’s twins than they are with the Beckham’s fourth spawn.

Nevertheless, as reported in celebrity gossip blog Hollywood Life, Beckham was thrown a pink-themed baby shower at the Hotel Le Petit Ermitage in Hollywood. A-list guests, including Selma Blair, Eva Longoria, and Nichole Richie, were invited. Source Beginnings, a Hollywood baby boutique, claims that, even with Beckham’s insistence that all gifts be pink, guests chose presents in other colors.

Baby products used by celebrities are not as far removed as, say, fashion choices. A Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag is closer to the average woman’s budget than a pair of Louboutins or a Hermes bag. If you are curious about the gifts given to Beckham, the following items have been mentioned by Hollywood Life and the Daily Mail:
• A Quinny Buzz Special Edition Stroller in pink
• A mamaRoo baby swing
• A Hoppop bath tub
• A Little Giraffe Luxe Blanket
• A Timi + Leslie diaper bag
• A custom-made stuffed giraffe by Melissa & Doug
• A Bonpoint clothing set
• An Orbit Baby Infant Stroller in red
• A Bloom Alma crib; and
• A Bloom Fresco high chair

Surprising a friend at a baby shower with a gift like one Victoria Beckham received isn’t out of the question. In fact, many of these brands can be found through ordinary baby boutiques. Baby and Me Boutique, for instance, carries Quinny Buzz strollers and Timi + Leslie diaper bags. Brands Melissa and Doug and Little Giraffe are sold through Hunky Dory.