A jury ordered Avon Products, Inc. to pay $24.4 million Friday to the family of a man who developed cancer decades after being exposed to asbestos-contaminated talc while working as a janitor in the early 1980s at the cosmetic company’s plant in the Chicago area. 

Cipriano Ramirez was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2023. This rare form of cancer is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers lodged in the lungs’ protective lining.

The trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, lasted over a month.  

Avon allegedly knew that some of its products contained talc that had been contaminated with asbestos, endangering workers like Ramirez as well as consumers who use the company’s makeup. 

In January 2023, a California jury awarded an Arizona woman with mesothelioma who had used Avon face and body powder products since childhood a combined verdict of $52.1 million. Jurors determined Avon was 90% to blame for her cancer.  

Natura Cosmetics SA acquired Avon in 2020 and removed talc from the company’s products marketed in the U.S.

Asbestos in Cosmetics, Personal Care Products

Talc is commonly used in makeup and personal care products. Still, the practice has come into question because this naturally occurring material is sometimes tainted with asbestos due to the geological proximity of the two substances. 

In 2019, Beauty Plus Global and Clarie’s Stores Inc. voluntarily recalled cosmetic products after they tested positive for asbestos. 

Asbestos-containing talc has also been found in baby powder, resulting in tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson. 

Last week an appellate court upheld a ruling denying J&J’s attempt to use a subsidiary to settle ovarian cancer claims against it through bankruptcy. The women who filed the claims were diagnosed with the disease after applying the company’s baby powder to their genitals for many years.