bareMinerals Class Action Claims Makeup Contains Harmful Manmade Chemicals

bareMinerals Harmful Substance Class Action Overview:

• Who: Shiseido Americas Corporation has been hit with a class action lawsuit over its bareMinerals makeup line. 
• What: The consumers allege that the range, which is advertised as being clean and conscious and free of harsh chemicals, actually contains harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.

 Beauty brand Shiseido’s bareMinerals makeup line, which is advertised as being clean and conscious and free of harsh chemicals, actually contains harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a new class action alleges.

Daian Onaka, Torshia Woods, Sheli Zeller, Margo Ferguson and Eva Bailey filed the lawsuit against Shiseido Americas Corporation alleging that the company conceals the inclusion of the manmade chemicals, falsely advertising the products to consumers and duping them into buying something they believe is natural.

All the while, the group alleges, the makeup line contains the “highly persistent and potentially harmful human-made chemicals,” which are sometimes called forever chemicals due to their pervasiveness and have been associated with a variety of negative health effects for humans and the environment.

The inclusion of the chemical in Shiseido’s makeup was made public in a study published in June that was conducted by Notre Dame researchers and published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. It found that more than half of the makeup sold in the United States may contain the toxic materials linked to cancer, low birth weight and weakened immunity.

In a 2019 study, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program found that PFAS has adverse effects on human organ systems, with the greatest impact seen in the liver and thyroid hormone, the bareMinerals class action lawsuit explains.

Shiseideo ‘Capitalizes On Ever-Increasing Consumer Demand’ For Clean Beauty Products, Plaintiffs Allege

The plaintiffs allege that Shiseido capitalizes on ever-increasing consumer demand for clean beauty products with its marketing and does not disclose anywhere that its makeups contain PFAS, “a chemical which is entirely inconsistent with its clean beauty campaign.” The group wants to represent consumers nationwide and is suing for damages and equitable remedies.

The bareMinerals makeup line includes foundation, lipstick, mascara and other makeup for the face, eyes and lips, and it is sold throughout the United States. Shiseido differentiates its products by advertising them as being free of harsh chemicals and unnecessary additives, full of natural minerals, rigorously safety tested, pure and clean, conscious beauty that’s good to your skin, good for the community and good for the planet, the plaintiffs allege.

“As a result of its brand name and marketing campaign, over the course of several decades, Defendant’s bareMinerals brand of cosmetics has unfairly gained the trust of consumers, who reasonably believe that bareMinerals products, including the PFAS Makeup, are made without non-clean or non-natural ingredients, such as PFAS,” the plaintiffs say.

They add that Shiseido does not disclose on its website, in its ingredients, on its packaging or in any other manner that its products contain PFAS. 

“Defendant’s concealment of this material information makes its false and misleading marketing even more egregious,” they argue. “Defendant’s misrepresentations are intentional, or otherwise entirely careless, and render the PFAS makeup worthless or less valuable.”

The group is suing for breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and violations of various state business and consumer acts.

Do you use bareMinerals makeup? Tell us what you think about this lawsuit in the comments section below!

The plaintiffs are represented by Rachel Soffin, Harper T. Segui, Erin Ruben and Andrei Rado of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC; and Melissa S. Weiner and Gregory N. Arenson of Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP.

The Shiseido bareMinerals False Ad Class Action Lawsuit is Onaka, et al., v. Shiseido Americas Corporation, Case No. 1:21-cv-10665 in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York.

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