More personal care manufacturers move to settle titanium dioxide lawsuit

06-Oct-2014 - Last updated on 07-Oct-2014 at 15:57 GMT

Following agreements with cosmetic companies to remove titanium dioxide from products earlier in the year, four more have reached a Proposition 65 enforcement settlement in California.

According to Judd Law Group, attorneys for the Public Interest Alliance (PIA), were approved by the California Superior Court and now involve personal care players; Aubrey Organics, Bonne Bell Company, Innovative Skincare and another unnamed company.

This will see the companies agree to either remove titanium dioxide from their products providing Proposition 65-compliant warnings; or remove products that contain the substance from California's market.

These brands follow previous agreements from Allure, DermaQuest, Dr. Hauschka Skincare, Melaleuca and Murad to re-label or remove titanium dioxide (TiO2) from products which contain it, earlier in the year.

The lawsuit filed in 2013, targeted 100 companies and alleged cosmetics manufacturers had failed to provide clear and reasonable warning of exposure to titanium dioxide (airborne, unbound particles of respirable size).

There is still no evidence that the compound is a risk

The move comes despite the fact that the consumer rights lobby group who filed the action, admits there is no evidence that the chemical compound is a risk to human health.

“The Public Interest Alliance is not saying that powder cosmetic products are necessarily unsafe, but it does want to raise awareness that the scientific-based link between the inhalation of titanium dioxide powder and tumor growth requires more study,” said Jeffrey Judd, managing partner of the group’s attorneys.

The brands’ willingness to respond to the group’s demands appears to support the claim that more study is needed into the health risks associated with the widely-used ingredient.

Titanium dioxide is a commonly used ingredient in many cosmetics, toothpastes as well as food products, and is particularly prevalent in sunscreens, where, used in combination with organic UV filters, it increases the sun protection factor.

The PIA lawsuit alleges that dozens of brands, including L'Oreal, Maybelline and Revlon have failed to provide a clear warning concerning powdered cosmetics and sun protection products that contain titanium dioxide by underlining the possible link between titanium dioxide and the increased risk of tumors needs more research.