Jewelry and accessories store Claire’s has been forced to recall 17 of its make-up products after a glitter set tested positive for asbestos.
The rather disturbing result was found after a Barrington, Rhode Island Mom, Kristi Warner, sent the make-up she had purchased for her six-year-old daughter to an independent lab to be tested.
She bought the make-up at the Providence Place Mall, but the investigation has indicated that this is a nation wide issue.
Warner credits her investigative nature to her work with a law firm, she told NBC news station WJAR. She said that she ‘physically sank’ when she got the call about the test results.
‘I ended up sitting on the ground, just trying to wrap my head around how something like that could end up in our home,’ she said.
After she got the news, Warner and her boss John Deaton then decided to purchase other products from Claire’s at various locations, sending them all in for their own tests.
Every single one of the 17 products that was purchased from nine different states was found to contain tremolite asbestos by the Scientific Analytical Institute.
Asbestos is a toxic substance which may cause malignant mesothelioma decades after exposure, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The independent laboratory and its director, Sean Fitzgerald, were previously in the news earlier in 2017 when they claimed to have discovered asbestos in Justice make-up products.
Justice conducted its own investigation and said there was no such substance in the products, leading to accusations of inaccuracy leveled at the lab.
Although this previous investigation led to questions around the lab’s tests, Claire’s has pulled the products as they undertake their own investigation.
Claires took to Facebook to make the announcement on Friday, writing: ‘At Claire’s the safety of our customers is of paramount importance, and we are passionate about the safety and integrity of our products.’
The statement continued: ‘We work closely with our vendors to ensure our products are tested and assessed in line with the relevant country regulations and guidelines.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.
‘Once we have more information and have the results of the investigation we will take the necessary action.’
The affected products has been listed on the Claires website, with items such as eye shadow, lip gloss and glitter sets among them.