Estée Lauder pleads guilty, pays $750K fine for using undeclared ‘forever chemicals’ in some eyeliners
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Cosmetics company Estée Lauder has been fined $750,000 after federal agents found it was using “forever chemicals” in some of its eyeliner products.
The company pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
In May 2023, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers discovered that the company was selling some eyeliner products that listed perfluorononyl dimethicone as an ingredient.
This substance is a silicone polymer used in makeup to increase hold, durability, and water resistance, and is one of a class of substances known as PFAS.
It is a group of thousands of man-made chemical compounds that have earned them the name “forever chemicals” due to their failure to break down easily in the environment or human body.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says the company was required to notify the government before importing, selling or distributing products containing the substance and failed to do so.
“This important requirement allows the government to assess potential health or environmental risks in advance,” said a news release from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
In June 2023, authorities issued the company an environmental protection compliance order outlining steps it would take to comply with the law, but the government said the company did not comply with the order.
The Canadian Press contacted Estée Lauder for comment but did not receive a response.
Canada is one step closer to adding a large group of PFAS — a class of thousands of chemicals used in a wide range of products from food containers to clothing — onto the country’s official list of toxins.
The company will be added to the registry of environmental offenders
The company has been ordered by an Ontario court to inform its shareholders about the sentence. His name will also be added to the government’s registry of environmental criminals.
The fine will be sent to the federal government’s Environmental Damage Fund, the news release said. The fund directs money received from fines, penalties, court orders and voluntary payments toward projects to repair environmental damage or help the environment.
Advocacy groups Environmental Defence, Ecojustice and Breast Cancer Action Quebec said in a joint statement that they were “happy” to see the government enforcing chemical reporting rules and holding Estée Lauder accountable.
“As other countries and states are taking swift regulatory action to phase out PFAS in products, Canada needs to join in – or risk being left behind,” the statement said. “We cannot allow Canada to become a dumping ground for PFAS products that are banned elsewhere.”
The groups said that, without stricter regulations, Canadian products would face challenges accessing markets in countries that have stronger environmental and health standards.
He said Canada should finalize the PFAS class list under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and draft regulations to exclude PFAS from cosmetics, textiles and other targeted products.
The groups also said the government should renew funding for the chemicals management plan on a permanent basis and ensure that researchers and regulatory enforcement at Environment and Climate Change Canada “have the resources they need to keep people and the environment safe in Canada.”
A new study from UBC shows that despite Canadian government regulations, so-called forever chemicals are making their way into sea otters off the coast of Vancouver Island. As CBC’s Claire Palmer reports, researchers say this is bad news for the marine ecosystem as a whole.
Estée Lauder is not the only company that has been fined in recent years for containing perfluorononyl dimethicone in its products.
In March 2024, Groupe Marcel Inc. was ordered by a Quebec court to pay a $500,000 fine for marketing cosmetic products – including Lise Watier, Marcel and Annabelle brand eye and lip pencils – that contained the substance.
Environment and Climate Change Canada said those products have been withdrawn from the distribution chain.
