Colgate-Palmolive Company is one of the most powerful consumer products companies in the world. Over the years, the company grew from a starch, candle, and soap manufacturer to the source of a wide range of household and personal-care products. Some of those products were made with talcum powder, which has been connected to asbestos contamination, ovarian cancer, mesothelioma, and other illnesses.
Colgate-Palmolive Company History
Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global company with over 24,000 employees and serving hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide. While today, the company has a market cap of over $80 billion and is ranked the world’s 209th most valuable company, it started as a small starch, soap, and candle business in New York City in 1806.[1] In the first years of the business Colgate partnered with Francis Smith and renamed the company Smith and Colgate, then purchased Smith’s share of the company and offered a partnership to his brother. The company was renamed Colgate and Company and opened a manufacturing operation in Jersey City, New Jersey to produce soaps and starch.
William Colgate died in 1857, at which time his son, Samuel Colgate reorganized the company under the name Colgate & Company and added several new products, including perfumes, essences, toothpaste, and perfumed soap. In 1872, the company registered the name of its perfumed soap, Cashmere Bouquet, as a Colgate trademark, and later expanded the brand to include talcum powders and other products.
Around the same time, B.J. Johnson opened a soap factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which was later renamed the Palmolive Company and another soap factory was opened in Kansas City by the Peet brothers. The Peets merged with Palmolive in 1926 and in 1928, Palmolive and Colgate merged to form Colgate-Palmolive-Peet.[2]
After the 1929 stock market crash, the Colgate family took control of the company and the company began using its present name, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Inc. The company’s growth was the result of an aggressive acquisition strategy that saw expansion into international markets and the addition of a diverse line of products that included laundry detergents, dishwashing liquids, plastic bags, razors and razor blades, hospital and industrial supplies, cosmetics, and other personal care items.
Many of Colgate-Palmolive’s most popular products were made using talcum powder, including its Mennen men’s powder products and its landmark brand, Cashmere Bouquet, which was sold starting in 1995.
Since those early years, talcum powder has been connected with potential asbestos contamination and Colgate-Palmolive has been named as a defendant in numerous lawsuits, blaming its products for malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.
Colgate-Palmolive and Asbestos
Colgate-Palmolive sold multiple powder products that were made using talcum powder, a mineral that was frequently used in cosmetics and personal care products. As early as the 1960s, scientific literature has suggested an association between using talcum powder in the genital area and the incidence of ovarian cancer.[3] There have been concerns about asbestos contaminating talc since the 1970s, and there are tens of thousands of people who have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer who have filed personal injury lawsuits against companies whose products contain the substance.
Many of the products that have been named in those lawsuits were manufactured and sold by Colgate-Palmolive. Both Cashmere Bouquet Body Powder and Mennen Shave Talc tested positive for asbestos when tested by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York in 1976.[4]
Does Talcum Powder Cause Cancer?
Though companies who mine talcum powder and who have processed, manufactured, marketed, and sold talc-based products argue against it being carcinogenic, an increasing number of scientific studies have confirmed that regular use of the mineral over decades increases the risk of certain cancers. The link between using talc in the genital area and ovarian cancer is particularly troubling, as many body powder companies specifically targeted female consumers and encouraged them to use the product in that way.
There have also been several investigations that have identified asbestos fibers in talcum powder-based products. Though the powder companies maintain that they rigorously test their talc for contaminants, microscopic fibers of the carcinogenic material have repeatedly been identified in samples of the products and blamed for consumers’ diagnoses with asbestos-related diseases and cancers.
Colgate-Palmolive Talcum Powder Lawsuits
As the public has become increasingly aware of the link between talcum powder and cancer, people who blame their mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, or other asbestos-related cancers have taken action against the companies that manufactured the products they used. Colgate-Palmolive has been named a defendant in hundreds of these cases. Some victims have been awarded multi-million dollar jury verdicts and others have settled out of court with the company. A few of these cases include:
- A 73-year-old woman whose malignant mesothelioma was blamed on her use of Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder was awarded $13 million, including $1.4 million in damages for her husband. It took jurors just two hours to find Colgate-Palmolive 95 percent responsible. The woman and the company reached a confidential settlement before the jury began deliberations on punitive damages.[5]
- In 2017, a Pennsylvania woman diagnosed with mesothelioma after using Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder for more than twenty years reached an undisclosed settlement with the company.
- In 2019, a 61-year-old retired teacher filed suit against Colgate-Palmolive, as well as Johnson & Johnson and Avon Products. She cited her lifelong use of the companies’ cosmetic talc products and accused the companies of negligence in failing to warn against their dangers. After presenting evidence and describing her ordeal to a jury, she was awarded $12 million in compensatory damages, with Colgate-Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson each assigned 40 percent responsibility and Avon Products assigned the remaining 20 percent.
What if I Used a Colgate-Palmolive Talcum Powder Product?
Colgate-Palmolive’s Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder products have been popular since it was first introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. It is impossible to tell how many people used it over the years, but there is good reason for those who used it to be concerned about their risk of malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.
If you used the company’s talc-based products, it’s important to understand that mesothelioma is a disease that has an extremely long latency period. More than fifty years can go by between exposure and the manifestation of symptoms.
The best way to protect yourself is to alert your physician to your previous exposure and ask them to take all appropriate steps to monitor your health for signs of either of these serious illnesses. Mesothelioma diagnoses tend to take time because its earliest symptoms so closely mimic those of far more benign diseases, and because the disease is so rare. Alerting your doctor about your exposure history is the best way to ensure that appropriate steps are taken.
Diagnosed with Mesothelioma or Ovarian Cancer After Using Colgate-Palmolive’s Talc Products?
If you are diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, or another asbestos-related disease, after attending to your health your next step may be consulting with an experienced asbestos attorney. These professionals have specific knowledge about the rights of those diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases and are uniquely qualified to help you navigate the process of seeking justice and compensation for the damages you’ve suffered.
Asbestos lawyers specialize in these types of cases. They can evaluate your situation, investigate how you were exposed to asbestos, and advise you on legal options. The situation with Johnson & Johnson is currently complicated and unsettled. You need a lawyer to provide the best advice for seeking compensation.
