Jewelry, beauty and accessory brand Claire’s is removing 17 different products from its stores after they were discovered to contain asbestos, reports NBC News 10.
The discovery was made by Kristi Warner, who purchased makeup from a Claire’s store in the Providence Place Mall in Barrington, Rhode Island, for her six-year-old daughter. Warner had concerns about the ingredients in the glitter makeup kit she bought for her daughter MacKenzie. She works for a local law firm that had encountered contaminated makeup in past cases, so the Barrington mother sent the makeup kit from Claire’s to an independent laboratory in North Carolina for testing.
Once the tests were completed, Warner received a distressing phone call from the lab. The makeup contained tremolite asbestos, a cancer-causing, toxic material that has been linked to mesothelioma. According to the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, this type of cancer is rare, aggressive, deadly and caused by exposure to asbestos.
Afraid that other children may be exposed, both Warner and a coworker bought 17 more Claire’s products from nine states. Unfortunately, none of the results were good news. Sean Fitzgerald, a scientist with the Scientific Analytical Institute who conducted the tests, was shocked to fin tremolite asbestos in every product he tested.
Warner, who says she did not know what to tell her six-year-old daughter about her exposure, noted that since most of the test products came from Claire’s over the last two weeks, other children are definitely being exposed to this deadly toxin.
In response to this revelation, Claire’s issued a statement saying that all the items in question were being pulled from store shelves nationwide. The company also added it is conducting an investigation of its own into the matter immediately.
Consumers are being asked to remove the products from their homes and return them to stores for a refund. Affected items include a metallic pink glitter makeup set and phone case, the Ultimate Mega Make Up Set, a rainbow heart makeup set and a pink glitter eyeshadow set. Although Claire’s has yet to provide details on why the affected items were contaminated, glitter does appear in most of the recalled items.
Sadly, this is not the first-time asbestos has been found in cosmetic sets aimed at young children. As reported by Teen Vogue, asbestos was also found in shimmer powder from popular young teen store Justice earlier this year. In that case, tremolite fibers were present in the talc used for the makeup’s base. The Food and Drug Administration requires that talc be tested for asbestos before it is used in cosmetics, so how it ended up in that cosmetic product is still unclear. Third-party testing conducted by Justice did not find any asbestos in the product, but it was pulled from shelves nevertheless.
Even with testing requirements in place, dangerous toxins can slip through the cracks and into everyday products. If you have been harmed by a dangerous product, speak to an experienced attorney, like an experienced Denver negligence lawyer, about your case.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from The Law Office of Richard Banta, P.C. for their insight into personal injury practice.