A mother in northern Nigeria is visibly upset as she clutches her two-year-old child, who has burns and discoloured skin on his face and legs. The 32-year-old used skin-whitening products on all six of her children, under pressure from her family, with results that she now deeply regrets. Read the full Press Release

In support of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21st, the Zero Mercury Working Group and WE ACT for Environmental Justice are calling for the elimination of mercury-added skin lightening products (Hg/SLPs) as an important step towards protecting consumers and helping to end colorism. Read the full Press Release  

Skin-lightening products, including creams and soaps sold over the counter in New York City, can contain high amounts of mercury, a harmful metal. Health Department has removed 1820 products from store shelves

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—January 30, 2025 —Today, Plaintiffs Larry Lee and As You Sow reached a settlement with Amazon concluding a nearly decade-long lawsuit addressing the sale on Amazon.com of brightening and lightening skin creams containing mercury. This settlement prohibits Amazon from selling skin lightening creams that contain mercury in excess of FDA limits.

Mexico has been making significant efforts to stop the industrial use of mercury in line with its obligations under the Minamata Convention. CYDSA, a Mexican chemical conglomerate, replaced the chlorine and caustic soda plant in Monterrey with a state-of-art mercury-free plant from 2013 to 2016. To convert the last remaining mercury-cell plant in Coatzacoalcos, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved a 12 million dollar project.

Albania, Burkina Faso, India, Montenegro and Uganda have joined forces to halt mercury pollution from the healthcare sector Mercury harms human health and the environment $134-million initiative will support a holistic approach to improve the management of mercury waste and the adoption of alternatives Geneva, 14 May 2024 – The Governments of Albania, Burkina Faso, India, Montenegro and Uganda have united to combat chemical pollution today, launching a $134-million project to eliminate the use of mercury in medical devices.

Toxic skin-lightening creams are still sold freely across South Africa, despite clear health dangers and the legacy of apartheid. In the dying days of apartheid, South Africa banned the sale of cosmetic creams that were designed to make black people look whiter. On 10 August 1990, the National Party health minister Dr Rina Venter banned the importation, manufacture and sale of cosmetic skin lighteners and also banned any products that claimed to “bleach”, “lighten” or “whiten” people’s skins.

By 2020 the manufacture, import and export of mercury-added products is no longer allowed Parties agreed on a framework to monitor the effectiveness of the Convention in order to strengthen its implementation The Third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury took place from 25 to 29 November in Geneva, Switzerland

OAKLAND, CA—April 17, 2019—The consumer protection group As You Sow filed a lawsuit today against Amazon.com (Amazon) under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, commonly referred to as Proposition 65. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon has knowingly exposed consumers to mercury by allowing mercury-laden, skin-lightening creams to be sold through its website without ensuring consumers receive the legally required warnings.  

The artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector accounts for 20 per cent of the world's annual gold production New $60-million initiative will improve conditions for artisanal miners in Mongolia and the Philippines, while slashing harmful mercury emissions As many as 15 million people work in the ASGM sector globally – including 4.5 million women and over 600,000 children The ASGM sector is the single largest source of man-made mercury emissions, responsible for the release of as muc

The artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector accounts for 20 per cent of the world's annual gold production The ASGM sector is the single largest source of man-made mercury emissions, responsible for the relea

Second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP2) is taking place from 19 to 23 November 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland Rising mercury emissions place pressure on international community to scale up action to tackle mercury, according to upcoming report 15 million miners exposed to mercury through its use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in over 70 countries Geneva, 22 November 2018 – Almost 150 countries, 94 of them Parties to

Geneva, 02 October 2017 – In a landmark display of international cooperation, more than 160 countries committed to tackling one of the world's greatest chemical health threats at the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The world's first environmental and health treaty in a decade saw many countries pledge political and financial support to help reduce and eliminate mercury, a heavy metal affecting the health of millions of people worldwide from Guyana and Kiribati, to Uganda and Japan.