30 October 2026, Quezon City. Nine years after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public health advisory, unscrupulous importers, distributors, and sellers continue to market mercury-laced Goree Beauty Creams from Pakistan, a persistent trade the EcoWaste Coalition has strongly criticized and tracked for years.
The smuggling persists despite the FDA issuing Advisory No. 2017-289 on October 30, 2017, which banned Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene and Goree Day & Night Whitening Cream for containing mercury above the one part per million (ppm) limit for mercury as a heavy metal contaminant under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, the group said.
Mercury levels in sampled Goree products often exceed 20,000 ppm, well above the ACD’s 1 ppm limit and the 15 ppm threshold for waste to be considered “mercury waste” under the Minamata Convention. Goree products sent by the EcoWaste Coalition and the Interfacing Development Interventions (IDIS) to Wonjin Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (WIOEH) for analysis, for example, tested at 46,900 ppm and 58,400 ppm of mercury.
Mercury in skin lightening products is hazardous to human health, causing damage to the brain, nervous system, kidneys, and the skin.
To mark the ninth anniversary of FDA Advisory No. 2017-289, the EcoWaste Coalition staged on October 29 a creative protest at a busy commercial district in the City of Manila to condemn the blatant illegal trade of Goree and other imported mercury-laden skin lightening products in physical stores, online shopping sites and social media platforms, and to push for the enforcement of the global ban on mercury in cosmetics under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
To drive their message home, women wore headgear crafted from Goree packaging while holding white masks. These masks featured skull-and-crossbones symbols to highlight the product’s toxic health effects, and silver drops representing the undisclosed mercury used to block melanin production and lighten skin tone. Protestors raised placards to voice their views: one declared the mercury-tainted products a “public health enemy,” while others called for a halt to the unlawful trade of dangerous cosmetics, explicitly warning “lason ang mga pampaputing may asoge” (whitening products containing mercury are poisonous).
“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, 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.”
Since that initial ban, the FDA has rolled out several public health warnings against other variants of this unauthorized cosmetic brand, including Goree Day and Night Beauty Cream, Goree 24K Gold Beauty Cream, Goree 24K Gold Beauty Kit, and Goree Beauty Kit.
Regulators worldwide have also banned Goree to protect public health and the environment from mercury contamination. In addition to the Philippines, countries taking action to halt its import, distribution, and sale include Brunei, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Sweden, the UK, and the USA.
Despite the multiple public health warnings issued by the FDA, contraband Goree Beauty Creams with high levels of mercury continue to be traded in the Philippines in clear defiance of the global ban.
Despite regulatory warnings, FDA-flagged Goree products are openly promoted and sold by third-party merchants on Lazada, Shopee, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram in violation of the platforms’ community guidelines, as the EcoWaste Coalition found during its monitoring last September in time for the 9.9 online sales.
Monitoring conducted by the EcoWaste Coalition in major trade hubs in Metro Manila, particularly in Baclaran and Binondo, also revealed flagrant sale of FDA-banned Goree cosmetics in stores selling assorted beauty and herbal products. The group had repeatedly exposed illicit Goree trade in other parts of the country.
To avoid poisoning their bodies and homes with mercury, the EcoWaste Coalition again advised Filipinos to love their natural skin tone, shun colorism, and stop using bleaching, lightening, or whitening products, especially those from unverified sources, noting “natural is beautiful.”
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Reference:
https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/news/blogpost/toxic-beauty-why-maharashtra-fdas-warning-mercury-laced-skin-lightening-creams-should
https://www.counterview.net/2026/07/toxics-link-demands-nationwide-ban.html
https://www.fda.gov.ph/fda-advisory-no-2023-2392-public-health-warning-against-the-purchase-and-use-of-unauthorized-cosmetic-goree-24k-gold-beauty-cream/
https://www.scribd.com/document/370492725/FDA-Advisory-No-2017-289
