The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued a warning regarding asbestos in certain Claire’s products after test results demonstrated the presence of the fibers in several makeup palettes. Asbestos is dangerous when particles or fibers enter the lungs or stomach and can lead to lung damage and cancer.
The items affected by the warning are Claire’s Eye Shadows, Compact Powder and Contour Palette and currently, are not being sold in stores. The FDA issued the warning to alert consumers to check their home for previously purchased items and to cease using the products immediately.
photo: Mike Mozart via Flickr
The FDA released the warning several years after Claire’s pulled nine makeup products from their shelves back in 2017. The statement comes after the organization tested several of those pulled items and found tremolite asbestos.
Claire’s has been in contact with the FDA and actually disputes the findings, stating that the methods used to classify the fibers as asbestos are incorrect. Representatives from Claire’s sent Red Tricycle the following statement via email:
At Claire’s, customer safety is paramount, and we pride ourselves on providing our customers with the highest quality and safest products. We wish to address today’s FDA warning that three cosmetic items sold by Claire’s may have been contaminated with asbestos. We assure customers that our products are safe.
Out of an abundance of caution, we have removed the three products identified by the FDA from our stores, and are also removing any remaining talc based cosmetic products. We will honor returns of any Claire’s talc based cosmetics.
There is no evidence that any products sold by Claire’s are unsafe. In early 2018, the three items identified by the FDA were extensively tested by multiple independent accredited laboratories, and all products were found to be compliant with all relevant cosmetic safety regulations. The recent test results the FDA have shared with us show significant errors. Specifically, the FDA test reports have mis-characterized fibers in the products as asbestos, in direct contradiction to established EPA and USP criterion for classifying asbestos fibers. Despite our efforts to discuss these issues with the FDA, they insisted on moving forward with their release. We are disappointed that the FDA has taken this step, and we will continue to work with them to demonstrate the safety of our products.
You can contact Claire’s via its Customer Service page here.
––Karly Wood
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