2020 Update: Which Companies are Still Selling Talc-Based Baby Powders?

Published Sept. 2020

For decades, doctors and scientists have raised concerns that using talc-based powders is leading to ovarian cancer and respiratory disease like mesothelioma. In fact, thousands of women have sued Johnson & Johnson (J&J) — manufacturers of one of the most popular baby powders on the market – for the negative impacts that use of its baby powder has had on their health.

In May 2020, J&J finally decided to reformulate its baby powder in the U.S. and Canada, replacing the talc with safer cornstarch. However, it plans to “sell down” any existing talc-based powder currently on store shelves until it’s gone. And, outrageously, Johnson & Johnson refuses to stop selling its talc-based powder in other countries.

But how does J&J’s decision compare to other companies selling talc-based powders?

To get the answer, we took a look at our list of 28 powder products we identified in a 2017 blog that — at the time — still contained talc. 

Most companies recognized the risk (both to women’s health and their reputations) and made the business decision to remove talc from their products. Unfortunately, the #1 seller of baby powder (J&J), as well as a few other manufacturers, still continue to expose their customers to talc.

[SEE TABLE of products below]

The details:

Discontinued Baby Powder

Some manufacturers decided to eliminate their powder products altogether. Of the original 28 products, 7 talc-based have been discontinued:

(And although we didn’t identify them in 2017 as part of our list, we learned that Avon Cosmetics also discontinued all of their lines of body powders as of 2017.)

Reformulated Baby Powder

Some manufacturers reformulated their powder products to include cornstarch instead of talc. Of the original 28 products, 15 are now talc-free:

Sell Down of Talc-Based Powder

Most manufacturers that either discontinued or reformulated their powders chose to sell down* their existing stock of talc-containing powders to retail and online outlets, rather than recall them.

We are unfortunately still able to find old stock of talc-containing powders available for purchase for the following 8 products:

Still Contains Talc

Some manufacturers have chosen to continue including talc in their powder products. Of the original 27 products, the following 6 products still contain talc: