The Marcelle Group, a Quebec cosmetics company, was ordered Tuesday to pay a fine of $500,000 for violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Between April 2021 and May 2022, agents from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) carried out various audits and carried out an inspection at the premises of Groupe Marcelle, in Dorval. They then noticed that eye and lip pencils from the Lise Watier, Marcelle and Annabelle brands containing Perfluorononyl Dimethicone were being marketed.
However, the marketing of cosmetic products containing Perfluorononyl Dimethicone is considered a “new activity” within the meaning of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. In doing so, it requires that certain information be first provided to the Government of Canada, an obligation that Groupe Marcelle has not respected.
The company pleaded guilty and the affected products were removed from the distribution chain, Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a press release. The fine of half a million will be paid to the Environmental Damages Fund and Groupe Marcelle will be added to the Register of Environmental Offenders.
No more Perfluorononyl Dimethicone at Groupe Marcelle
In a press release, Groupe Marcelle affirmed that the manufacturers of the products in which Perfluorononyl Dimethicone had been found “did not inform Groupe Marcelle that the substance was subject to the requirements resulting from a notice” from ECCC. Furthermore, says the company, “Health Canada has never reported any concerns” in connection with this substance.
It also ensures that it “ceased the distribution of products containing the substance” as soon as it was notified by ECCC. Groupe Marcelle “then carried out a complete recall of approximately 220,000 units of impacted pencils, which were destroyed [et] has since reformulated the impacted pencils and stopped using Perfluorononyl Dimethicone in all of its products.”
Perfluorononyl Dimethicone makes it possible to increase the hold and durability of cosmetic products. It is part of the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which constitute a group of several thousand synthetic substances.
These substances, which remain little known, are found in various concentrations in a wide range of products. They are often referred to as “eternal pollutants” because of their persistence in the environment, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec.