Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org
Minneapolis, MN— Today, The Beautywell Project and the Sierra Club’s Gender, Equity & Environment Program launched a media campaign targeting major online retailer Amazon to stop selling skin lightening creams that contain illegal levels of mercury. The groups delivered a petition with 23,000 signers to Amazon’s corporate office in Minneapolis and released a full-page ad in the Minneapolis Star Tribune— a central location for Amazon’s distribution centers and home to a community that uses these products regularly. Digital ads also hit Facebook and Instagram. See the results and more details about the campaign here.
In addition to the release, representatives of the organizations released the following statements:
“These skin lightening products expose communities of color to intense levels of mercury and impact their health outcomes especially women and children,” said Amira Adawe of the Beautywell Project. “This practice was inherited from colonization-- where historically people were taught to dislike their skin color. Retailers like Amazon play a major role in the global distribution of these harmful products. We need a strong regulatory system that will hold companies accountable.”
“Amazon has been repeatedly warned that they are selling products that contain illegal levels of mercury, and must be held accountable for their failure to protect consumer health and safety,” said Sonya Lunder, of the Sierra Club’s Gender, Equity and Environment Program. “It is time for Amazon to put in place protocols to keep these toxic products off their website.”
Background:
The Beautywell Project, Sierra Club and Zero Mercury Working Group purchased several of the skin lightening creams, bought from Amazon and eBay websites in 2018 and 2019. This years’ testing found that two-thirds of the products contained illegal levels of mercury. Most products had 1,000 times the limit, while one contained 40,000 parts per million. See the full results here.
About the Beautywell Project
The Beautywell Project aims to end skin-lightening practices and chemical exposures, and to ensure individuals live in a healthy lifestyle and ‘embrace their identity and culture. Our mission is to develop healthy individuals, families and community through education, research, empowerment, policy and system changes
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.