01. History of Asbestos Use
Estée Lauder History of Asbestos Use
Estée Lauder is a cosmetics company founded by a husband-and-wife duo in 1946 in New York City. The first product to put the company on the map was its innovative 1953 Youth-Dew bath oil. The oil doubled as an accessible fragrance to women. With its help, Estée Lauder grew to earn $100 million with 1,000 employees by 1973.
Around the turn of the millennium, it acquired many other beauty companies. These included Aveda™, Bobbi Brown Essentials and Clinique®. It continues to sell makeup, skincare and fragrance products worldwide, earning billions.
Some of the company’s personal care products contained talcum powder. Talc is widely used in such products because it absorbs moisture and has a smoothing texture. A naturally occurring mineral in the ground, talc is sometimes found alongside asbestos. When companies mine for talc, it can be contaminated with asbestos. Exposure to asbestos can lead to cancers like mesothelioma.
Resources for Mesothelioma Patients
02. Asbestos Products
Estée Lauder Asbestos Products
Estée Lauder started rolling out their talcum powder products in the 1950s. A cheaper alternative to expensive perfumes, its fragrant body powders contained talc. The mineral made the products smoother and more moisture-absorbing.
Talc can easily be contaminated with asbestos when mined. But if a product contained asbestos, it would not have been listed on the ingredients list. Companies generally do not test talc products like cosmetics for asbestos before putting them on the market.
Asbestos products manufactured by Estée Lauder may include:
- Clinique face powder
- Cool Spray Bath Powder
- Youth-Dew Translucent Face Powder
- Youth-Dew Translucent Powder Base
- Other Youth-Dew brand powders
Estée Lauder may have produced other talc products. Asbestos lawyers 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
Estée Lauder and Occupational Exposure
Asbestos contamination can occur when mining for talc. Consumers and workers may have experienced asbestos exposure from contaminated cosmetic talc products. Occupational exposure may occur in factories that manufacture Estée Lauder’s products. Retail store workers and makeup artists may also be exposed to asbestos in these products.
Individuals impacted by Estée Lauder’s asbestos use include:
- 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
Secondary asbestos exposure may also occur when workers bring home asbestos on their clothing. Family members can then breathe in the fibers, too.
04. Asbestos Lawsuits
Asbestos Lawsuits Against Estée Lauder
People who have been exposed to asbestos from Estée Lauder’s products may be able to file lawsuits. Recently, dozens of British women have filed lawsuits against the company. One woman was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma at just 42 years old in 2016. She won a significant, undisclosed settlement out of court in 2023. Since then, dozens of women with mesothelioma have followed in her footsteps.
Another woman diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma filed a lawsuit against Estée Lauder in 2021. The company tried to dismiss the complaint in 2024, but the New York Supreme Court denied the motion. The lawsuit is ongoing.
If you’ve used Estée Lauder talc products and have developed an asbestos disease, you have options. An experienced mesothelioma lawyer can help you pursue the best legal options for your situation.
