Avon filed for Chapter 11 after 400 talc lawsuits — $1.3B in debt, sold for scraps

Avon Products, founded in 1886, was one of the world's largest direct-selling cosmetics companies, operating in dozens of markets including India, where it had been present since the 1990s building a network of millions of representatives. By the early 2020s, Avon faced nearly 400 lawsuits alleging that its talc-based products contained asbestos and caused mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.

The talc litigation had been building for years. In 2020, Avon set aside $225 million for talc claims, but by 2024 the company faced billions in potential liabilities. On August 12, 2024, Avon Products Inc. and its US subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, carrying $1.3 billion in funded debt. The bankruptcy was structured to resolve the talc claims through a trust while preserving value from the non-US operations.

Natura &Co, the Brazilian beauty conglomerate that had acquired Avon in 2020 for $2 billion, purchased the non-US operations via a $125 million credit-bid and provided $43 million in debtor-in-possession financing. In September 2025, Natura sold Avon International (operations outside Latin America) to Regent LP for £1. The US entity was left as a shell to manage talc claims through a liquidation trust.