Avon products files for bankruptcy to wrangle talc lawsuits

Avon Products, owner of the beauty brand known for its door-to-door saleswomen, filed for bankruptcy after facing a wave of lawsuits alleging talc in its products caused cancer.

According to Report, which cites Moneyweb, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Monday to address the talc lawsuits, according to a statement. Avon listed assets and liabilities of at least $1 billion and no more than $10 billion each in its Chapter 11 petition.

Avon Products is a holding company that sold its US operations in 2016, according to the statement. The now-bankrupt entity owns the brand outside the US and its international business.

The international operations aren’t part of the bankruptcy and are operating as usual, according to the statement. The Avon brand in the US is owned currently by LG Household & Health Care and is not part of the bankruptcy.

Avon is the latest company to seek bankruptcy in order to deal with lawsuits stemming from talc products. Most notably, Johnson & Johnson has tried to settle lawsuits using bankruptcy multiple times and is yet to succeed.

Brazil-based Natura & Co, which acquired Avon in 2020, has agreed to provide up to $43 million of financing to fund the bankruptcy, Avon said.

The bankruptcy is AIO US Inc, 24-11836, US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.