HEMA goes to court for claim EenVandaag about asbestos in make-up

There is asbestos in the make-up of the Douglas and HEMA retail chains, the current affairs program says One today. Which has had two products tested in three laboratories, in the Netherlands and in the US, and it has been found that they contain carcinogenic asbestos fibers.

Douglas and HEMA deny that their products are unsafe. “It is absolutely not true. The American test method is not recognized here. We have had the make-up tested at TNO and it shows that there is certainly no asbestos in it. We also find the Commodities Authority behind us”, says Frederike van Urk from HEMA.

This afternoon a lawsuit was filed in Amsterdam that the department store had filed against EenVandaag to enforce a rectification. The decision will follow shortly.

The products tested are ‘My Cheek Palette Blush’ from Douglas and ‘BAE loose powder foundation 2nd skin’ from HEMA. The two make-up items are still in the shops.

‘Small chance of health damage’

According to experts, the different results can be explained because other research methods have been used. Asbestos can also occur unevenly in the product; it is found in one test and not in the other.

There is talk in a lot of make-up. Sometimes asbestos fibers come along when they are extracted, but according to HEMA, this is constantly monitored. “One today has been working on this topic for about a year. If it actually contained asbestos, would you as a journalist come out with it sooner and not just now? That is simply your social duty, “says Van Urk.

One today has had the investigation carried out by Sean Fitzgerald, among others, an authoritative American asbestos researcher. He has previously identified asbestos in dozens of other makeup brands. In a response to HEMA’s lawsuit late One today know: “There are three accredited asbestos researchers who have found it. We have prepared a balanced deployment and conducted careful research for a long time. We await the verdict in confidence.”

RIVM investigated the health risks of asbestos in make-up in 2018. The institute concluded that there is a small chance that users will experience health damage in the long term.