EcoWaste Coalition Calls Out Lawbreaking Taguig Stores for Defying Ban on Mercury Cosmetics

4 September 2024, Quezon City.  Errant retail stores reported by the EcoWaste Coalition to the Taguig City Government for selling forbidden cosmetics adulterated with mercury, a highly toxic chemical, continue to disregard and defy the law.

During the market monitoring it conducted on September 2 and 3 amid the inclement weather, the environmental and health watchdog group found 16 stores still selling skin lightening products flagged by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for containing mercury and/or for being sold without the required authorization from the agency.

“We appeal to the Taguig City Government to undertake further measures to halt this unlawful trade of dangerous cosmetics with mercury,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.  “With the cooperation of concerned local government units, national government agencies, and other sectors, we remain optimistic that our nation, which is a party to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, can effectively enforce the ban on mercury cosmetics to protect our people’s health and the environment.” 

To recall, the group notified the office of Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano last July 2 about the illicit sale of mercury cosmetics in 20 beauty product stores in the city, which were monitored selling FDA-banned Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene, Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream, Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream, and 88 Total White Underarm Cream.  The Goree facial creams are marked “made in Pakistan,” while the underarm cream is from Thailand.

On July 8, the EcoWaste Coalition met with Atty. Tes Veloso, head of Taguig City’s Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) to discuss the group’s concern. Some of the stores were subsequently visited by BPLO personnel.

 Based on the group’s latest surveillance, four retail outlets operating at Sunshine Mall still sell the FDA-banned Goree Beauty Creams and 88 Total White Underarm Cream. One of these stores also sells Jiaoli Miraculous Cream from China, and another store offers Collagen Plus Vit E Day & Night Cream from Indonesia, both of which are also contaminated with mercury and prohibited by the FDA.

Three stores at the MEC Complex in Comembo, three stores at the Taguig People’s Market in Lower Bicutan, two stores in Barangay South Signal Village, and one in Barangay Tuktukan were also found engaged in the uncurbed trade of mercury cosmetics as if these products are lawful to sell and safe to consume.

In addition, three more beauty product stores were seen selling mercury cosmetics in Barangays Comembo, South Signal Village and Utusan.

The Goree Beauty Creams, in particular, were prohibited by the FDA through multiple public health warnings issued in 2017 and 2023. Foreign governments, including those from the USA, European Union, ASEAN, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, have similarly banned or recalled Goree products for containing mercury, a toxic chemical not permitted as an ingredient in cosmetics such as skin lightening creams, lotions, and soap.

“We fear more stores are involved in the wanton trade of these health- and environmentally-damaging cosmetics with mercury,” Lucero said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that “mercury-containing skin lightening products are hazardous to health.”  Mercury in such products is released through usual product use with skin absorption and inhalation as common exposure routes.

According to WHO, mercury in skin lightening products can cause uneven skin color, rashes, and scarring, and it can decrease skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections. Repeated applications can cause damage to the kidneys, the brain, and the central nervous system.

As stated by WHO: “Mercury in soaps, creams, and other cosmetic products is eventually discharged into wastewater. The mercury then enters the environment, where it becomes methylated and can enter the food chain as highly toxic methylmercury in fish. Pregnant women who consume fish containing methylmercury can transfer the mercury to their fetuses, which can result in neurodevelopmental deficits in the children.”

The EcoWaste Coalition is pushing for a solution-focused summit led by the FDA that will involve various stakeholders to address the unrelenting problem with mercury cosmetics, permanently stop their importation, distribution, sale, and use, and protect human health and the environment. (PR)