Claire's recalls makeup after Rhode Island mother discovers cancer-causing asbestos in her daughter's lip gloss
- A Rhode Island woman tested her six-year-old daughter's makeup from Claire's and found cancer-causing asbestos.
- Claire's is recalling the affected products and conducting its own investigation.
Claire's is recalling makeup products over fears that they contain cancer-causing asbestos.
The recall was prompted by a Rhode Island woman who tested her six-year-old daughter's makeup kit containing lip gloss and eye shadow, among other products, and discovered the presence of tremolite asbestos, which has been associated with mesothelioma and other types of cancer, NBC 10 reports.
"I physically sank," the woman, Kristi Warner, told NBC 10. "I ended up sitting on the ground, just trying to wrap my head around how something like that could end up in our home."
Warner works at a law firm firm specializing in asbestos litigation. She tested 17 other makeup products purchased from Claire's stores across nine states to determine if it was a widespread problem.
Tremolite asbestos were discovered in every product, according to NBC 10.
Claire's, which sells jewelry, accessories, and makeup for young girls, says it has since started an investigation into the products and removed them from store shelves.
"At Claire's the safety of our customers is of paramount importance, and we are passionate about the safety and integrity of our products," the company said in a statement posted to its website. "We have taken the precautionary measure of pulling the items in question from sale, and will be conducting an immediate investigation into the alleged issues. Once we have more information and have the results of the investigation we will take the necessary action."
The company said it would issue a refund for customers who had purchased any of the affected items.
Exposure to asbestos has been found to lead to certain types of cancers and tumors on internal organs.