Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has expressed its intent to stop making and selling its talc-based baby powder around the world from next year and transition to an all cornstarch based product.

The firm noted that it continuously evaluates and optimizes its portfolio to best position the business for long-term growth. This transition, it explained, will help simplify its product offerings, deliver sustainable innovation, and meet the needs of its consumers, customers and evolving global trends.

The announcement comes more than two years after the healthcare giant ended sales of the product in the US.

“As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio. As a result of this transition, talc-based JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder will be discontinued globally in 2023.”
J&J

The firm revealed that it remains fully committed to ensuring Johnson’s products are loved by parents and families for years to come.

J&J faces tens of thousands of lawsuits from women who allege its talcum powder contained asbestos and caused them to develop ovarian cancer. However, the company reiterated its view that decades of independent research shows the product is safe to use.

“Our position on the safety of our cosmetic talc remains unchanged. We stand firmly behind the decades of independent scientific analysis by medical experts around the world that confirms talc-based JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
J&J

Cornstarch-based Johnson Baby Powder is already sold in countries around the world.

In 2020, J&J stated that it would stop selling its talc baby powder in the US and Canada because demand had fallen in the wake of what it called “misinformation” about the product’s safety amid a number of legal cases.

At the time, the firm said it would continue to sell its talc-based baby powder in the UK and the rest of the world.

The company faces lawsuits from consumers and their survivors who claim J&J’s talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos.

Reuter’s investigation into claims

A 2018 investigation by the Reuters news agency claimed that J&J knew for decades that asbestos was present in its talc products. It noted that internal company records, trial testimony and other evidence showed that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, J&J’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos.

In response to evidence of asbestos contamination presented in court rooms, media reports and to US lawmakers, the firm has repeatedly denied the allegations.

In October, J&J created a subsidiary, LTL Management, assigning its talc claims to it. It later placed it into bankruptcy, which paused the pending lawsuits.

Prior to the bankruptcy filing, the company faced costs from $3.5bn (£2.87bn) in verdicts and settlements, including one in which 22 women were awarded a judgement of more than $2bn.

In April, a shareholder proposal calling for an end to global sales of the talc baby powder failed. Johnson’s Baby Powder has been sold for almost 130 years and became a symbol of the company’s family-friendly image.