FOCUS-Skin whitening creams remain online despite mercury findings

By Martinne Geller
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Skin-whitening creams identified
as containing potentially dangerous levels of mercury continue
to be sold online more than seven months after a watchdog group
raised the alarm, including on platforms run by eBay EBAY.O ,
Amazon.com AMZN.O and Alibaba BABA.N , a Reuters review of
the sites shows.
The findings come at a time when skin lightening, a
multi-billion dollar industry especially popular in Asia, Africa
and the Caribbean, is under renewed criticism for promoting
light skin as a beauty ideal. Many countries ban or restrict mercury in creams, which can
damage the kidneys, brain and nervous system. An international
ban on manufacturing products with mercury in them comes into
effect at end-2020.
The Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG), an international
coalition of non-governmental organizations, issued a report
last November that found unacceptable levels of mercury in 95
skin-lightening creams out of 158 samples tested.
The tests looked for concentrations of mercury above 1 part
per million, the level set in a 2017 global treaty, and found
levels ranging from 1.9 to 131,000 ppm.
Reuters didn't independently confirm the levels of mercury
found in the brands cited by ZMWG.
The samples were sold under more than 20 brand names, mostly
by smaller manufacturers in developing countries that had been
flagged by governments or in previous testing.
Major global brands from the likes of Unilever ULVR.L
UNA.AS , L'Oreal OREP.PA and Procter & Gamble PG.N were not
flagged and were not included.
ZMWG bought more than two-thirds of the creams online,
including on Flipkart, majority-owned by Walmart WMT.N ; South
Africa's Bidorbuy; Nigeria's Jumia 4JMAy.DE ; and Lazada and
Daraz, which are both part of the Alibaba Group and operate in
Southeast and South Asia, respectively, as well as on Amazon and
eBay, the coalition said.
One month after its report came out, ZMWG said that eBay,
Lazada and Daraz had pledged to remove its high-mercury product
listings but had not done so, while Amazon removed products from
its U.S. and EU platforms, but not in India.
Reuters checks in late June showed at least 19 listings of
the products on different country sites run by all seven
e-commerce platforms, however.
After Reuters raised the issue, the platforms scrapped most
of the specific listings or promised to do so. But as of July
10, brands cited by ZMWG continued to pop up, including on
Daraz, Amazon, and eBay.
Goree Cosmetics in Pakistan and Bangkok-based Smilephan, two
companies whose name brand products were available on several
sites and showed high mercury levels, told Reuters they do not
use mercury and warned about counterfeits.
Smilephan shared with Reuters an ingredient list, test
reports from 2019 and 2011 showing no mercury in samples, and
copies of certifications it said attest to regular audits.
"We strongly believe those are not our original products,"
said Songkiat Kulwuthivilas, Smilephan's assistant managing
director. The company no longer sells its Pop Popular brand in
Africa because of the excess of counterfeits, he said.
EBay said it would sweep its sites to remove listings and
update surveillance filters imposed in December that had already
blocked 250 listings.
"We comply with local restrictions and also we have a long
history of partnering with rights owners, industry groups and
law enforcement," eBay spokeswoman Ashley Settle said.
Daraz told Reuters it would to take "necessary action" if
the listings were found to violate its policies or harm
customers.
An Amazon spokeswoman in India said the company was
investigating, but that on its 'marketplace,' responsibility
rests solely with the seller.
A California judge in 2019 ruled that Amazon was immune from
liability for third-party sellers in a case involving warnings
about mercury in skin-lightening creams.
"Most people buying on Amazon have no idea that Amazon isn't
anything like walking down to your grocery store," said food
safety lawyer Bill Marler.