EcoWaste Coalition Flags 1,041 Online Product Listings for Skin Lighteners Banned for Mercury Adulteration and/or Lack of Authorization

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18 March 2026, Quezon City.  While women’s contributions to society are celebrated during the National Women's Month, the EcoWaste Coalition is demanding real action from government regulators and administrators of online shopping and social media platforms:  protect women from hazardous products, specifically mercury-laced skin lightening products, which threaten women’s health and the safety of their families.

“We appeal to e-commerce regulators to use their powers under the Internet Transactions Act and related laws to enforce the prohibitions against skin lightening products with mercury content to protect our women and their families, knowing exposure risks can extend beyond the primary users of contaminated cosmetics,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Administrators of online shopping and social media platforms must take down without delay all product listings and related materials promoting the consumption of products flagged by health authorities or civil society groups due to mercury adulteration and/or for lacking the required authorization,” she said, emphasizing “they need not wait for takedown orders to protect their customers.”  

The EcoWaste Coalition’s latest call for action came on the heels of the monitoring conducted by student interns from the University of Rizal System (URS), confirming the presence of hundreds of online product listings for mercury-containing and other unauthorized skin lightening products. The monitoring was conducted between March 10 and 16, 2026.

The interns identified 1,041 product listings on Shopee, Lazada, Carousell, Alibaba, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for skin-lightening products flagged by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for containing mercury and/or lacking market authorization. A similar monitoring conducted in July 2025 identified 1,146 online listings for mercury and mercury-added products, including 1,057 for non-compliant skin lighteners.

Among the FDA-flagged products with the most number of product listings and related promotional materials were Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene, Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream, Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream and the newly-introduced Goree 4-in-1 Beauty Kit and Goree Gold 24K 3-in-1 Beauty Kit, as well as other Pakistan-made products such as Faiza Beauty Cream, Golden Pearl Beauty Cream, Parley Goldie Advanced Beauty Cream, and Sandal Beauty Cream.

Product listings for China-made skincare products such as Aichun, Ailke, BIB, Feique Jiaoli, and S’Zitang were also found, as were listings for Thailand-made 4K Plus, 88 Total White, Dr. Yahnee, and Meyyong products, Indonesia-made Collagen Plus Vit E, and Malaysia-made Erna.  Some of these products may be counterfeits.

Previous studies by the EcoWaste Coalition of skin lightening products sold online have detected extremely high mercury concentrations in numerous samples at levels way above the one part per million (ppm) trace amount limit for mercury under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.

Other studies have also affirmed the prevalence of mercury-laden cosmetics peddled online. For instance, a study published in 2025 by researchers from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) detected mercury ranging from 1.8 ppm to 144,894 ppm in 58 percent of the 134 samples of skin lightening products bought online from seven Asian countries, including the Philippines, “reflecting significant regulatory gaps.”

“The findings highlight widespread non-compliance with safety standards, especially for online cosmetics, where regulatory oversight is limited,” the report abstract stated. “Immediate action is needed to strengthen enforcement, enhance consumer awareness, and implement routine monitoring to address the health risks posed by mercury-containing cosmetics.”

Aside from urging government regulators and digital platform administrators to act, the EcoWaste Coalition implored consumers, especially women, to shun chemical whiteners, resist color-based bias, discrimination, and prejudice, and embrace the natural color of one's skin at birth, noting that beauty and success come in every shade.

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