Ah, Claire’s. Purveyors of the overpriced cute du jour, loved by many 90s (and today’s, I suppose) girls. Probably loathed by parents who thought their pricing was insane. I got my ears pierced at Claire’s (I don’t recommend this, more on why at another time) around my fifth birthday, and most of my earrings for just over a decade after came from them. As a kid, I was a fan as were many of my friends and peers growing up.
Quality
No one who has purchased Claire’s wares will hold any illusions that they sell quality product. It isn’t meant to be quality; it is meant to be cute and satisfy the fleeting whims of children. We obviously aren’t buying Tarte products. Hell, we aren’t even buying NYX – but for the prices Claire’s wants, you might as well go buy NYX and get safer (and higher quality) product.
So while we can’t expect Claire’s to carry high quality, durable products, we ought to be able to expect safe ones – especially since their entire target demographic is children. Evidently, however, we can’t.
Recall due to Asbestos in Makeup from Claire’s
Claire’s themselves has not confirmed the asbestos reports but issued a recall just before Christmas pending additional testing. They say they’ll be refunding any product returned related to these concerns.
The recalled list of products may be found here.
Not the First Time
Though this may be Claire’s first brush with this sort of scandal, tween brand Justice came under fire for similar allegations. Instead of taking Claire’s cautionary route, Justice staunchly denies the matter because, “their lab cleared the products.”
Hmm, of course it did.
The Bottom Line
It is disappointing that Claire’s allowed unsafe products to reach their shelves and, ultimately, the hands of the tiny consumers they shill to. Thankfully they seem to be taking the matter seriously, but if I were a parent, I’d shy away from purchasing much of anything from them for quite a while.
Justice, on the other hand, can take a hike. Justice is even more overpriced for the garbage they peddle. Their flippant attitude towards concerns of asbestos in makeup demonstrates that they care even less about the harm they may be inflicting on families. Vote with your dollars, people.