AS we celebrate International Women’s Month, toxics watchdog BAN Toxics has issued a consumer alert on the illegal sale of prohibited beauty products containing mercury—a highly toxic heavy metal that poses serious risks to the nervous, digestive, and immune systems.
Among the cosmetic skin lightening products banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene and Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream, priced at ₱180–₱200 each, and sold in beauty shops in Malabon, Pasay and Valenzuela, as well as through online shopping platforms. Using a Vanta C Series Handheld XRF Analyzer, the group tested the products and detected mercury at concentrations as high as 28,800 parts per million (ppm)—far exceeding the 1 ppm limit set by the ASEAN Cosmetics Directive.
“The illegal selling of banned skin lightening products is alarming and dangerous to public health, especially to women and children,” said Thony Dizon, Advocacy and Campaign Officer of BAN Toxics.
Citing the World Health Organization, mercury exposure in women primarily causes severe neurological, reproductive, and developmental damage, with particularly high risks for pregnant women and developing fetuses. It can lead to infertility, birth defects, developmental delays in children, and chronic symptoms in women, including tremors, memory loss, depression, and numbness.
BAN Toxics, through the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG), has been investigating mercury-added skin lightening products (SLPs) for several years primarily due to their health risks, their illegality under many national laws, and the Minamata Convention on Mercury’s prohibition on the manufacture and trade of mercury-added SLPs, which generally became effective in 2021.
In 2025, the ZMWG published a report exposing the ongoing illegal manufacture of mercury-added skin whiteners. With its partners from Pakistan, Kenya, the Philippines, and the United States, the group purchased and tested samples from six widely available brands of skin whitening creams (SWCs) made in Pakistan, as indicated on their packaging: Faiza, Golden Pearl, Goree, Aneeza, Parley, and Face Fresh. The results are alarming: 35 of the 37 creams contained mercury levels up to thousands of times higher than the legal limit of 1 ppm, with one product reaching 24,000 ppm. The products were tested in accredited laboratories in the EU and the US.
“The illegal sale of banned skin lightening products is occurring not only in the Philippines but also in other countries, including on online shopping platforms.”
The group’s continuous monitoring online showed the widespread marketing of banned skin lightening creams, including Goree Products, on e-commerce platforms such as Lazada and Shopee, which put the public at risk and requires immediate action from Philippine regulatory agencies.
“We call on both the FDA and the DTI to expedite their regulatory and enforcement functions to prevent the further sale and use of prohibited skin lightening products, ensure consumer protection, and prevent exposure to toxic mercury,” the group added.
BAN Toxics, a leading advocate for safe cosmetics regulation in the country, urges legislators to pass a law that will protect public health and the environment from hazardous chemicals in cosmetics.
“We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring and documenting prohibited skin lightening products offered for sale in the market and push for stricter product standards and enhanced consumer safety and protection.”
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