Claire's Accessories Recalls 9 Makeup Products Due To Asbestos Concerns

Claire's Accessories, known for its jewellery and makeup, has recalled several products after concerns surfaced that the products may contain asbestos.

USA Today reports that a Rhode Island-based mother, Kristi Warner, was suspicious about the components of her daughter's glitter makeup, and sent it to an independent lab for testing. According to Warner, the makeup tested positive for containing tremolite asbestos.

"I physically sank," Warner told NBC-affiliated WJAR News. "I ended up sitting on the ground, just trying to wrap my head around how something like that could end up in our home."

Understandably concerned, Warner, who works for a law firm, purchased more products from Claire's stores in different states. "This is unusual, so let's get multiple jurisdictions, multiple states, multiple products and let's see how that results," said Warner's boss, John Deaton. Tests showed that there was tremolite asbestos in all of the products.

On December 23, Claire's responded on social media, writing in part that "...the safety of our customers is of paramount importance, and we are passionate about the safety and integrity of our products. As a result of today’s inquiry from WJAR-TV, 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."

They followed up with an additional statement on December 28, which reads "we have retained an independent laboratory to test the cited products in order to determine whether the recent news reports are accurate. In the interim we have stopped sales of the products and are issuing full refunds to concerned customers. As always, the safety of our customers and products is our top priority."

Although there were earlier reports that up to 17 products may be affected, Claire's has provided a list of nine products subject to recall. You can view the full list of recalled products here.

Despite its public health dangers — which range from lung cancer and mesothelioma to other pulmonary diseases — the United States is one of the few industrialised countries that has not yet entirely banned the use and import of asbestos products. In fact, you can find still find asbestos in things like vehicle parts and insulation.

You can view Claire's tweets below. We've reached out to the company for comment, and will update this story when we hear back.