MANILA— The EcoWaste Coalition has called for stronger enforcement against the illegal importation and sale of mercury-contaminated Goree beauty creams, saying the products remain available in physical stores and online marketplaces nine years after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned two variants.

The group staged a protest in a commercial district in Manila on October 29 to mark the ninth anniversary of FDA Advisory No. 2017-289, which prohibited the sale of Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene and Goree Day & Night Whitening Cream after they were found to contain mercury exceeding the one-part-per-million limit under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.

The EcoWaste Coalition said mercury concentrations in tested Goree products have reached more than 20,000 parts per million (ppm), far above the allowable limit for cosmetics and the 15-ppm threshold for classifying waste as mercury waste under the Minamata Convention.

Samples submitted by the group and the Interfacing Development Interventions (IDIS) to the Wonjin Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health for testing contained 46,900 ppm and 58,400 ppm of mercury, respectively.

During the protest, participants wore headgear made from Goree packaging and held white masks bearing skull-and-crossbones symbols and silver drops to represent mercury contamination. Placards described the products as a “public health enemy” and warned that “lason ang mga pampaputing may asoge.”

The group also called for the enforcement of the global ban on mercury in cosmetics under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

“Illegal skin lightening products contaminated with mercury like Goree are still being smuggled into our country. These contraband cosmetics are hazardous to health, causing damage to the brain, central nervous system, and the kidneys, while also risking reproductive health and causing skin rashes, scarring, and discoloration,” said Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition.

“Family members, especially babies and children, can suffer secondary mercury poisoning just by breathing in vapors or touching contaminated clothes, bedding, and towels,” she added.

The FDA has since issued additional public health warnings against other variants of the unauthorized brand, including Goree Day and Night Beauty Cream, Goree 24K Gold Beauty Cream, Goree 24K Gold Beauty Kit and Goree Beauty Kit.

According to the EcoWaste Coalition, the products continue to be promoted and sold by third-party merchants on Lazada, Shopee, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, despite FDA warnings.

The group said its monitoring last September, ahead of the 9.9 online sales campaign, found listings for FDA-flagged Goree products on these platforms.

Its inspections of major Metro Manila trading areas, particularly Baclaran and Binondo, also found banned Goree cosmetics being sold in stores offering various beauty and herbal products. The group said it had previously documented similar sales in other parts of the country.

Aside from the Philippines, the EcoWaste Coalition identified Brunei, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States as among the jurisdictions that have taken action against Goree products.

The group urged consumers to avoid skin-whitening products from unverified sources and encouraged Filipinos to embrace their natural skin tones, saying “natural is beautiful.”