Contact: Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org or 248-214-6682
Today, 51 non-governmental organizations from around the globe sent letters to Amazon and eBay, calling on them to stop marketing dangerous and illegal mercury-based skin lightening creams. The groups testing identified 19 skin products sold by these companies that contain illegal mercury levels. Most products had mercury levels thousands of times higher than the legal limit of 1 part per million, established in the United States and many other countries.
The use of skin lightening products is skyrocketing globally and in the U.S., with use primarily by women of African, Latin American, Asian and the Middle Eastern ancestry. While the peril of toxic, mercury-based skin lighteners has long been recognized, sales continue in the U.S. even though FDA regulations have prohibited mercury since the 1970s.
“Internet moguls Amazon and eBay must stop breaking the law with their toxic trade in illegal cosmetics,” said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project. “They have the responsibility and resources to prevent exposing their customers to toxic products.”
“The products expose communities of color to intense levels of mercury and impact their health outcomes,” said Amira Adawe of the Beautywell Project. “ “We need a strong regulatory system that will hold accountable companies that make and sell skin-lightening products.”
“People who use mercury-based creams have some of the highest mercury exposures of anyone in the country,” said Sonya Lunder, of the Sierra Club’s Gender, Equity and Environment Program. “Online sales are a key way for these harmful products reach unsuspecting customers.”
The Mercury Policy Project, Sierra Club and the European Environmental Bureau purchased skin lighteners from eBay and Amazon in May and September 2018, focusing on brands that had been previously identified as illegal by New York City, the State of Minnesota and foreign governments.
In the letters, the groups are calling on Amazon and eBay to:
(1) Ensure that products they sell comply with government regulations by monitoring government lists of illegal products to keep them out of their inventory; and
(2) Require all skin lighteners get prior approval before sale, including sellers verification that the products do not contain mercury and are compliant with all applicable government regulations.
Background
None of the skin lighteners tested listed mercury on the label, so people have no idea that they are purchasing a harmful product. Those that were labeled were manufactured in Pakistan, Thailand, China, or India, although many didn’t include a location. Several products were also sold in other countries as part of a global testing program spearheaded by the Zero Mercury Working Group.
Mercury-based cosmetics cause skin damage and pose long-term risks to the brain, nervous system, kidney and immune system. The most serious impacts are exposures during pregnancy, which cause learning, memory and behavior problems during childhood.
While state and local governments are trying to keep illegal products from being sold, they can’t stop online marketing. FDA is responsible for enforcing online sales.
Globally, mercury-based cosmetic products are a big business. A companion report released today by the Zero Mercury Work Group found 34 additional mercury-based skin lighteners for sale in 6 countries in the Global South. However due to significant health risks, the international Minamata Convention on Mercury will ban the manufacture, import, or export of cosmetics with mercury content above 1 ppm after 2020.
- Letter to Amazon and eBay from 51 heath, environment, and justice organizations
- Sierra Club blog on the perils posed by mercury-based skin lighteners
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, 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.