01. History of Asbestos Use
Colgate-Palmolive History of Asbestos Use
William Colgate founded his soap, starch and candle business in New York City in 1806. B.J. Johnson started the soap company that became the joint Palmolive-Peet venture in 1864. Peet is known for its Cashmere Bouquet soap. The companies also made toothpaste, perfumes and more. By Colgate’s 100-year anniversary, it sold more than 800 products. In 1928, Colgate and Palmolive-Peet merged to form one company.
The corporation expanded over the rest of the 20th century. It created and acquired many new household products, distributing them around the world. These included Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Ajax cleanser and Palmolive dishwashing liquid.
The company made some of its body and baby powder products with talcum powder. Talc is popular in personal care products for its moisture absorption, texture and more. It is a naturally occurring mineral that develops in the ground. But talc is often found alongside asbestos, another mineral that can cause cancer and other illnesses. So when companies mine for talc, asbestos may accidentally get mixed into the talc.
Resources for Mesothelioma Patients
02. Asbestos Products
Colgate-Palmolive Asbestos Products
Colgate-Palmolive made personal care products using talcum powder. Talc gave the products a smoother texture and helped them absorb moisture. Some of these products may have been contaminated with asbestos. The product label would not have mentioned the dangerous mineral.
Talc products manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive include:
- Cashmere Bouquet
- Mennen Bath Talc
- Mennen Shave Talc
Cashmere Bouquet was trademarked in 1872 as a body and hand soap. At that time, it was a landmark product line for the company. The company created other personal care products under the same name in 1933. These included over a dozen powders, creams, makeup products and more. One 1962 ad for the talcum powder product read, “Never evaporates. Never dries your skin. Leaves you silken-smooth, flower-fresh all over.” It was also advertised as made from “pure, imported Italian Talc.”
Throughout its long history, the company may have produced other talc products. Asbestos attorneys have access to product databases that are much more comprehensive than publicly available data. If you develop mesothelioma, you can reach out to one of these attorneys to figure out where you may have been exposed to asbestos.
03. Occupational Exposure
Colgate-Palmolive and Occupational Exposure
Asbestos-contaminated talc poses an exposure risk at every stage of production and use. When mining for talc, there is generally a risk of asbestos contamination. Testing has shown asbestos present in some of Colgate-Palmolive’s talc-based cosmetics. Any workers involved with manufacturing or distributing these products faced occupational exposure risks.
Workers in other industries, like cosmetology, may also use these products. This puts them at risk of asbestos exposure from Colgate-Palmolive’s talc-based cosmetics.
Below is a list of professions that may have exposed workers to these products:
- Coal miners
- Cosmetic manufacturers
- Cosmetic store personnel
- Cosmetologists
- Crane operators
- Drilling engineers
- Engineering geologists
- Equipment operators
- Excavators
- Factory workers
- Freight workers
- Geologists
- Laborers
- Machine maintenance workers
- Machine operators
- Makeup artists
- Metallurgists
- Mine workers
- Mining engineers
- Models
- Oil miners
- Open cut examiners
- Petroleum engineers
Workers may also unintentionally expose their families by bringing asbestos fibers home with them. This is known as secondary asbestos exposure. Consumers of Colgate-Palmolive’s talc-based products similarly faced exposure risks.
04. Asbestos Lawsuits
Asbestos Lawsuits Against Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive has faced over 170 asbestos lawsuits for its talc use. The first successful case occurred in California in 2015. A court awarded $13 million to a 73-year-old woman who developed mesothelioma after using Cashmere Bouquet. In 2017, Colgate-Palmolive settled another lawsuit with a Pennsylvania woman diagnosed with mesothelioma. The settlement amount was undisclosed.
If you believe you’ve been exposed to asbestos from Colgate-Palmolive, speak with an asbestos attorney.
