Accessories retailer Claire’s has pulled some makeup products off its shelves due to a consumer complaint that the products contained asbestos, The Chicago Tribune reported on December 28, 2017. Posting on Twitter, Claire’s has announced that it will have its products tested by an independent lab.
Products affected by this investigation, according to the Claire’s website, include:
- Bedazzled Rainbow Heart Makeup Set
- Metallic Hot Pink Glitter 48 Piece Makeup Set
- Mint Glitter Make Up Set
- Pink Glitter Cellphone Makeup Compact
- Pink Glitter Palette with Eyeshadow and Lip Gloss
- Rainbow Bedazzled Rectangle Make Up Set
- Rainbow Bedazzled Star Make Up Set
- Rainbow Glitter Heart Shaped Makeup Set
- Ultimate Mega Make Up Set
The complaint came from Kristi Warner in Barrington, Rhode Island, who claimed that she found asbestos in cosmetics purchased for her six-year-old daughter. Warner purchased the products at the Claire’s location at Rhode Island’s Providence Place Mall. Claire’s issued the statement on independent lab testing in response to this claim in order to determine whether the woman’s daughter’s makeup did, in fact, contain asbestos.
As reported by WJAR, an NBC affiliate television station in Rhode Island, the woman who made the complaint works for a law firm. This law firm specializes in class-action lawsuits in asbestos-related cases.
WJAR also reported that in addition to sending the products to Claire’s, the woman had also sent samples of the makeup to an independent lab for testing. That lab’s test results, according to WJAR, indicated the presence of tremolite asbestos in the samples.
Tremolite asbestos is a form of asbestos that occurs naturally in silicate minerals, particularly in quartz and dolomite. It becomes a health concern when it is inhaled. Exposure to the particle form of tremolite asbestos is known to cause health problems in humans that include asbestosis, mesothelioma of the lungs and of the abdomen, and lung cancer.
Forbes reported in a December 31, 2017 article written by Bruce Y. Lee that WJAR-TV told its viewers that asbestos had been found in 17 Claire’s makeup products from nine states. According to CNBC, the law firm said that it will not seek legal action against Claire’s if the company admits that its products were contaminated with asbestos.
According to the law firm, the samples were sent to the Scientific Analytical Institute. Test results were said to have shown that each of the 17 products was positive for the presence of asbestos. Previously, the law firm had sent samples of cosmetics products from accessories retailer Justice to the Scientific Analytical Institute, and Justice’s products were also said to be positive for the presence of lead.
Both Justice and Claire’s maintain that their products are tested before being put on store shelves and had previously been found to be lead-free. The Scientific Analytical Institute stood by its testing results, saying that the discrepancy might be due to testing microscopes of different strengths. Customers who are concerned about products they’ve purchased from Claire’s can return these products to the store for a full refund, according to the Claire’s post on Twitter.
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