EcoWaste Coalition calls on Philippines FDA to fight toxic mercury in cosmetics

16 Aug 2024 --- The EcoWaste Coalition urges the Philippines Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hold a multi-stakeholder summit to tackle the trade of mercury cosmetics across the country. 

The watchdog says the cosmetic ingredient should not be classified within the space of cosmetics but as toxic waste. 

The organization submitted a letter to the FDA proposing that the lead regulatory agency for health products solve the “seemingly interminable” trade in mercury cosmetics, particularly skin products for lightening the skin tone.

“It is important for the FDA, as the national regulatory authority for health products, to ensure that the ban on mercury under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD) is effectively enforced to protect individuals and their families from being exposed to this potent environmental toxicant,” Aileen Lucero, national coordinator at EcoWaste Coalition tells Personal Care Insights.

“Mercury and its compounds are listed in Annex III of the ACD, or the list of substances that must not form part of the composition of cosmetic products. Given the levels of mercury in many of the skin-lightening products we have analyzed, it appears some manufacturers intentionally add this forbidden chemical into their products in clear violation of the ACD.”

According to the WHO, mercury use in skin-lightening products can lead to adverse health effects, including skin rashes, discoloration and scarring and reduced dermal resistance to bacterial and fungal skin infections. 

The WHO also warns that repeated applications of such products onto the skin can cause damage to the kidneys, the brain and the central nervous system.

Consumer awareness
The group presented its proposal on the seventh-year anniversary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The treaty aims to protect public health and the environment from human activities contributing to global mercury pollution, including phasing out the manufacture, import and export of mercury-added products like skin lighteners. 

The EcoWaste Coalition reports finding cosmetic products with mercury in them.The EcoWaste Coalition explains that mercury in skin-lightening products is often present at levels exceeding the threshold value of 15 parts per million (ppm) for mercury waste under the Minamata Convention, which puts human health and ecosystems at “serious risk of toxic contamination.”

Lucero tells us that most consumers would not know which cosmetics potentially contain mercury. 

“Consumer literacy remains low in the Philippines and, in most cases, people focus on product affordability rather than its quality and safety. Consumers of skin-lightening products are often unaware of the toxicity of mercury and its associated risks.”

The national coordinator urges governmental bodies to roll out a sustained “consumer-oriented” information and education campaign about mercury as a human health hazard, which Lucero recommends should be supported by healthcare professionals and other influential people.

“The cosmetics industry can help by speaking out against mercury use in skin-lightening products and cautioning consumers against using unauthorized products that have not been evaluated for compliance to safety standards.”

FDA taking action
Despite the ban on mercury cosmetics globally, regionally and nationally, the EcoWaste Coalition has found over 290 stores in the Philippines selling FDA-banned mercury cosmetics during the group’s market monitoring from January 2023 to August 2024.

“While we fully recognize the past and current efforts of the FDA to address this grave threat to public health, the importation, distribution, sale and use of skin-lightening products with undisclosed mercury content persists. It is apparent the FDA needs to muster the support of other agencies and sectors to put this serious health threat to rest,” adds Lucero.

“The enormous expansion of online marketing has literally brought these dangerous products to the fingertips of consumers. With their unrestrained advertising and promotion in e-commerce sites, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, these health-damaging products are merely one click away.”Toxic watchdog calls for a shift in the beauty industry away from skin lightening products.

In 2024, following the reports submitted by the EcoWaste Coalition, the FDA banned eight more skin-lightening products with mercury content from China and Pakistan.

Equality in beauty
The coalition also expressed its hope that the summit can serve as a launching pad for a multi-sectoral campaign that will challenge the normalization of skin-lightening practices among women and men, and “advocate for diversity, acceptance and respect for a person’s natural skin color.”

The group would like the summit to be broadly attended and supported by representatives from national and local government agencies, business and industry, the healthcare sector, the media, and civil society, including environmental health, women’s, youth and consumer groups.

“We hope that the proposed summit can also spark some interest in the need for our society to question toxic beauty ideals that tend to glorify and equate whiteness with beauty. We hope that it can pave the way for a multi-sectoral initiative that will challenge colorism and espouse diversity, inclusion and equity,” explains Lucero.

The EcoWaste Coalition further urges the FDA to consider initiating an Asian summit to draw in government and stakeholder counterparts to develop a regional strategy to tackle mercury-laced cosmetics.

By Sabine Waldeck