A customer has hit Chanel and Foot Locker with a lawsuit claiming that asbestos allegedly present in Chanel’s after bath talc products caused her to develop mesothelioma. These Chanel products were allegedly sold and purchased at Publix and Woolworth stores; Woolworth is now Foot Locker.

The Chanel lawsuit claiming asbestos in talc products was filed by Dolores G. Dolores asserts that she developed mesothelioma after using Chanel’s after-bath talc products for 30 years — between 1961 and 1991. She says that she used the products because she believed them to be safe for use.

Dolores claims that Chanel was aware that asbestos could be present in its talc products, but did not warn customers about the possible dangers associated with it.

According to Dolores, Chanel continues to sell these talc products, representing them as safe. She also challenges Foot Locker’s sale of the products as safe to consumers. 

The Chanel/Foot Locker talc products misrepresentation lawsuit aims to hold the companies accountable for fraudulent concealment, negligence, negligence per se, and breach of warranty.

Dolores explains that ingesting what she believes to be asbestos in talc led her to suffer physical injuries in the form of her mesothelioma, as well as emotional and financial injuries that come with it, from medical costs to lost wages to emotional trauma.

Contamination Awareness

Dolores states that as early as the 1930s, research existed that suggested that talc could be contaminated with carcinogens including asbestos. Elaborating on the possible connection between asbestos and talc, her lawsuit explains that both are naturally occurring minerals that are often found next to one another in nature. She goes on to say that when talc is mined, sometimes asbestos is removed with it, and contaminates the talc. This way, asbestos allegedly finds its way to consumers through talc products.

By the 1970s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had reportedly begun to ask if consumers should be warned about the possible dangers of asbestos in talc. However, after pressure from the Cosmetics, Toiletries, and Fragrance Council, a lobbying organization, the FDA halted these efforts.

Dolores points a finger at the council in her Chanel talc lawsuit, saying that the council did not inform the FDA about the lack of testing around talc. The FDA says testing needs to be more stringent.

Her lawsuit says that Chanel, Footlocker “and the CTFC also did not disclose to the FDA that the overwhelming majority of talcum powder manufacturers and sellers were not testing their products for asbestos, and even if they were testing, it was done superficially.” It notes that in many cases, if the organizations did conduct testing, it was not done on the end-products made to be purchased by consumers, but done on old products that were not sold.

Asbestos Litigation

Chanel is not the only company to face allegations that there is asbestos in talc products. Johnson & Johnson has faced many similar claims, litigation which has led the company to recall its talc-containing products explains the New York Times. Allegedly, documents surfaced in 1999 that show J&J’s awareness of contamination.

Johnson & Johnson’s talc supplier, Imerys Talc America, has faced extreme reactions, as well. Bloomberg states that the company has been fielding allegations over the dangers of talc for more than a decade. Reportedly, the company sought protection through bankruptcy last year and has recently agreed to sell its North American operations at auction to cover the costs of some of the more than 14,000 lawsuits launched against it.

Once the business sells, the proceeds will reportedly be put into a fund that will be used to compensate victims allegedly affected by Imerys talc.

Dolores’ Chanel After-Bath Asbestos In Talc Product Contamination Lawsuit is filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York.