03.09.22
Skin whitening products containing high levels of mercury continue to be sold on the world's biggest e-commerce platforms, including websites run by eBay, Amazon and Alibaba, according to a study by Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG). No major beauty company produces mercury-based skin brightening products.
ZMWG purchased and tested 271 skin lightening products from more than 40 e-commerce sites in 17 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Of these, 129 products in 16 countries were found to have high levels of mercury and were being sold on more than 30 different sites.
"When we started looking at these products online, there was such widespread use," said Michael Bender, executive director of the Mercury Policy Project and a coordinator for ZMWG. "It was like an explosion compared to what we were seeing in the local markets," he told CNN.
The use of mercury in cosmetics is restricted in most countries. In 2013, the Minamata convention on mercury set an international limit for cosmetics of 1mg/kg of mercury, or 1 part per million (ppm) which came into force in 2021, though this excludes eye area cosmetics. The manufacture, import and export of cosmetics with over 1ppm mercury is also prohibited under the global treaty. However, 47% of the skin whitening products tested by the ZMWG contained more than the permitted level of mercury, with many containing over 10,000ppm of mercury -- and some over 50,000ppm, according to the report.
A total of 36 brands made products identified by the ZMWG as containing high levels of mercury and the majority were available in multiple countries and continents through a range of online platforms. Among these were some of the products by brands such as Pakistan-based companies Goree, Aneeza, Faiza, Chandni and Noor, Thailand-based Kim, China-based Jiaoli, and Mexico-based La Tia Mana. All but La Tia Mana had been identified in previous ZMWG reports but continue to contain high levels of mercury and be available online, according to the latest report.
ZMWG purchased and tested 271 skin lightening products from more than 40 e-commerce sites in 17 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Of these, 129 products in 16 countries were found to have high levels of mercury and were being sold on more than 30 different sites.
"When we started looking at these products online, there was such widespread use," said Michael Bender, executive director of the Mercury Policy Project and a coordinator for ZMWG. "It was like an explosion compared to what we were seeing in the local markets," he told CNN.
The use of mercury in cosmetics is restricted in most countries. In 2013, the Minamata convention on mercury set an international limit for cosmetics of 1mg/kg of mercury, or 1 part per million (ppm) which came into force in 2021, though this excludes eye area cosmetics. The manufacture, import and export of cosmetics with over 1ppm mercury is also prohibited under the global treaty. However, 47% of the skin whitening products tested by the ZMWG contained more than the permitted level of mercury, with many containing over 10,000ppm of mercury -- and some over 50,000ppm, according to the report.
A total of 36 brands made products identified by the ZMWG as containing high levels of mercury and the majority were available in multiple countries and continents through a range of online platforms. Among these were some of the products by brands such as Pakistan-based companies Goree, Aneeza, Faiza, Chandni and Noor, Thailand-based Kim, China-based Jiaoli, and Mexico-based La Tia Mana. All but La Tia Mana had been identified in previous ZMWG reports but continue to contain high levels of mercury and be available online, according to the latest report.