January 23, 2025
Thursday 23 January 2025 Libreville, Gabon—On Wednesday 22nd January, 2025, Ministers adopted a declaration calling for the elimination of mercury-added skin lightening products [1]. Non-government organisations from Africa and across the globe applauded the Ministers high level call to zero out mercury in skin whitening products. “We applaud Gabon for […]
December 23, 2024
The United Nations Environment Programme, Global Mercury Partnership and its area of work on mercury-added products, is seeking inputs from online platforms related to mercury-added skin-lightening products being sold online. Mercury added cosmetics, including skin lightening products, are banned from manufacture, import and export by international treaty Minamata Convention on […]
October 17, 2024
Exposure to harmful chemicals, including mercury, claims the lives of over 1.5 million people globally each year. As research shows, the overwhelming majority among them are women. Such an imbalance reveals yet another dark dimension of gender inequality that puts lives of the female part of the population at a constant unnecessary […]
September 28, 2024
In a joint-statement signed by 59 organisations, united NGOs and European industry warn that online sellers could escape the EU’s product sustainability and chemical safety requirements using the E-market loopholes. This affects online sales of textiles, electronics, furniture, cosmetics and any product that would be covered by the Eco-design for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR) and chemical safety standards. The statement aligns with the Zero Mercury […]
June 28, 2024
The Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) submitted information to the Minamata Convention’s open consultation, addressing challenges in preventing the manufacture, import, and export of mercury-added cosmetics listed in Part A of Annex I. These cosmetics include most notably skin-lightening products. Our submission provides insights […]