Jessica Alba is InStyle’s February cover girl! In this issue, the 31-year-old actress talks about the many new skills she’s added to her resume over the years: mother, wife, organic baby food expert, and author among them. A year ago, she launched Honest Company with environmental specialist Christopher Gavigan, in the hopes of educating people on the benefits of healthy, organic products for children. “Creating this company was something I had to do,” Alba tells InStyle of the venture, which has already attracted $27 million from investors. “We’re completely transparent. All the goods we make are high-performance—and safe—but they’re also beautifully designed, so people will be drawn to them, too.” In March, Alba puts pen to paper in her first book, The Honest Life, a how-to handbook she co-wrote with Gavigan on filling your home with eco-friendly and safe products. Her role as activist started as her family grew: She has two children—Honor, 4, and Haven, 1—with producer husband Cash Warren, the love of her life. “I just knew when I met him that I was going to know him forever,” says Alba. “It was weird; he instantly felt like family. It was so easy. I’d never felt like that with anyone. I was usually pretty self-conscious, minding my p’s and q’s, very aware of every time my fork hit the plate when I was having dinner on a date. With him, there was none of that. We got each other. We’re kindred spirits.” For more of our exclusive interview, flip to page 194 of the February issue—or download it on your iPad, Nook, or Droid tablet—on newsstands Friday, January 11.