Toxic mercury cosmetics still marketed as a ‘solution’ to dark skin

This report comes at a critical time as Parties to the Fifth Conference of Parties (COP5) of the Minamata Convention are preparing to discuss the amendment proposed by the Africa region which seeks to address the enforcement loopholes and implementation failures related to mercury-added cosmetics. [...] The African amendment is designed to strengthen the existing Convention provisions by: • Prohibiting the manufacture and trade of all "mercury-added cosmetics", instead of only those containing "over 1 ppm mercury"; • Curtailing the merchandising of mercury-added SLPs, including sales, offering of sales, marketing, advertising and display; • Coordinating inter-ministerial, bilateral and/or regiona. [...] Michael Bender, Coordinator at Zero Mercury Working Group, said: "Despite the Convention’s ban on manufacture and trade, the proliferation and online sales of mercury cosmetics continues. [...] Toxic cosmetics are a global mercury crisis warranting coordinated international collaboration." Charline Cheuvart, Mercury Policy Officer at the European Environmental Bureau, said: "Once approved, the amendment will help complement and strengthen the current treaty and close loopholes that allow advertising, display and indiscriminate sales of mercury-added SLPs. [...] [5] Products were tested in accredited laboratories in Europe and the United States and through using a hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer or analyzer in three regional hubs: · CASE in Côte d’Ivoire (for Africa), · Ban Toxics in the Philippines (for Asia) and · In Antigua and Barbuda (for Latin America and the Caribbean.) Approximately 10% of samples tested with an XRF were sent to a.