Cosmetics Industry Advised To Brace For PFAS Lawsuits

The most recent of what a post from CMBG3Law says will be a wave of PFAS lawsuits targeting cosmetics companies was filed against L’Oreal in federal court in New York, on March 9. By the writer’s count, it was the fourth lawsuit to be filed against a major cosmetics company in less than three months. The potential for litigation in this area, he says, is due in part to a last year’s journal article that found PFAS present in over half of cosmetics products tested, as well as earlier findings that unlike many harmful chemicals, PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) can enter the bloodstream through the skin and possibly through tear ducts.

The writer says recent developments corroborate a prediction he reiterated in a post last year: that cosmetics would become the number two locus for PFAS litigation, after water. The industry, insurers, and investment companies should take note, he says. This is an industry, hat “has a target on its back,” and while the current wave of lawsuits touch on marketing, advertising, ESG reporting, and consumer protection kinds of issues, personal injury product lawsuits could follow.