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 found the company was selling some eyeliner products that had perfluorononyl dimethicone listed as an ingredient.
The substance is a silicone polymer used in makeup to increase hold, durability, and water resistance, and is among the class of substances known as PFAS.
Those are a group of more than 1,200 chemical compounds which don't break down easily in the environment or the human body, giving them the name "forever chemicals."
Environment and Climate Change Canada says the company was required to notify the government before adding the substance to its products and it didn't do that.
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/LM Otero, File