Claire’s image has not been improved by the presence of asbestos in some of their products. Now, they plan to file for bankruptcy. Reportedly, the company is $2 billion in debt and hopes to keep stores open by filing for Chapter 11 (Lowe, 2018).
In Late 2017, asbestos was first discovered in some of Claire’s makeup for children. The United States Public Interest Group (U.S. PIRG) recently tested 15 beauty products from Cover Girl, Claire’s, L’Oreal, and NYX brands. Three of the products were found to contain asbestos; all are made by Claire’s.
The lab U.S. PIRG used, STAT Analysis Corp., found asbestos ranging from 84,746 fibers per gram to 153,846 fibers per gram (Rizzuto, 2018). STAT is among a group of labs certified to test for asbestos by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Claire’s continues to defend their products by attempting to discredit STAT’s testing methods and continuing to deny that any of their products contain asbestos (Rizzuto, 2018). They assert that “customer safety is of paramount concern” and assure customers that all their products “are safe and asbestos-free” (Claire’s, 2018). The statement goes on to say that they have been cooperative with the FDA, Heath Canada, and EU enforcement agencies. Additionally, they have conducted their own tests at four separate, unnamed laboratories that have found their products to be safe.
References
Claire’s Stores Inc. (2018, March 12). Product and Safety, March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.claires.com/us/product-and-safety.html
Lowe, L. (2018, March 9). End of an era? Claire’s will reportedly file for bankruptcy. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.today.com/style/claire-s-will-reportedly-file-bankruptcy-t124786
Rizzuto, P. (2018, March 13). Asbestos in Cosmetics Allegations Add to Retailer Claire’s Woes (Corrected). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.bna.com/asbestos-cosmetics-allegations-n57982089735/
