EcoWaste Coalition Tags 20 Stores in Taguig City for Selling Dangerous Cosmetics with Mercury

8 July 2024, Quezon City.  The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition has identified retail kiosks and shops in Taguig City that are engaged in the unlawful trade of prohibited skin lightening products laden with mercury, a potent health and environmental toxicant banned in cosmetic products.

As reported by the group to the Office of Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano last July 2, at least 20 retail kiosks and shops located in Barangays Lower Bicutan, New Lower Bicutan, West Bicutan, Pinagsama, Central Signal, South Signal, Tuktukan, Comembo and Pembo were found selling one or more mercury-adulterated products that have been banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The EcoWaste Coalition met with the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) today, July 8, to provide additional information about mercury cosmetics and the need for action to stop the illicit trade of contraband cosmetics laden with mercury in Taguig City, as well as in other cities and municipalities across the country.

As an integral component of its vigilant campaign to protect human health and the ecosystems against hazardous chemicals and products, the group conducted a rapid market investigation to check on the sale of mercury-containing cosmetics in the city.

“Our rapid market investigation has confirmed the flagrant sale in Taguig City of contraband cosmetic products containing mercury, a chemical poison that is not allowed in the composition of cosmetics,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.  “Consumers are being tricked into using these facial creams that promise to lighten the skin tone and manage symptoms of aging, including age spots, blemishes, freckles and wrinkles not knowing these products contain mercury, which poses serious health risks to those who use them and other family members, children in particular.”

“We thank the Office of the City Administrator for referring our letter to the BPLO who immediately reached out to us. With the cooperation and assistance of the other offices, we are sure that Taguig City will succeed in banning mercury cosmetics in their area of jurisdiction,” she said.  “The steps that will be taken by Taguig City will contribute to protecting the people, especially the women and children, and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury exposure and pollution.”

From June 29 to July 1, 2024, the group hopped from one barangay to another in search for stores openly selling cosmetics that have been prohibited by the FDA for containing mercury above the one part per million (ppm) limit under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, and/or for lacking the required certificates of product notification.

Among the FDA-banned cosmetics being offered for sale in Taguig City are Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene (banned in 2017), Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream (2017) and Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream from Pakistan (2023), 88 Total White Underarm Cream (2021) from Thailand, and Jiaoli Miraculous Cream (2010) and S’Zitang 10 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set (2015) from China.

At Sunshine Plaza Mall, Taguig City’s “oldest shopping center,” four stores blatantly offer mercury cosmetics in full view of shoppers and passersby as if these products are not banned at all.

The same situation was observed at Comembo Complex and Taguig People’s Market where some stallholders offer assorted cosmetics at affordable prices, including skin lightening products forbidden by the FDA, especially Goree.

In their letter to Mayor Cayetano, the group requested the local authorities to 1) conduct law enforcement activities, in coordination with the FDA, to rid the city of contraband cosmetics contaminated with mercury, 2)  enact an ordinance or issue an executive order banning and penalizing the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of mercury-containing cosmetics in the city, and to 3) promote a “Natural Is Beautiful” campaign to instill appreciation and acceptance of one’s natural skin color thereby reducing the consumption of chemical skin whiteners.

Mercury, one of the 10 chemicals of major public health concern as per the World Health Organization (WHO), is added to some skin lightening products to inhibit the body’s production of melanin, resulting in a lighter skin tone. Mercury is released through usual product use with skin absorption and inhalation as common exposure routes.

Both the WHO and the FDA have warned that mercury can cause skin discoloration, rashes, and scarring, and reduce skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections.  Repeated applications can harm the kidneys, the brain and the central nervous system.

The use of mercury-containing skin lightening products by pregnant women is of utmost concern, according to health experts, as mercury is known to cross the placenta during pregnancy and accumulate in fetal tissues, affecting the developing brain and nervous system of the fetus and causing neuro-developmental disorders. (PR)