EcoWaste Coalition urges consumers to reject chemical whiteners and embrace their natural skin tone
28 September 2026, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition is warning online shoppers yet again after discovering high mercury levels in another imported Pakistani beauty cream.
With the discovery of mercury in Yaz Beauty Cream Herbal + Natural White, the group has now identified 48 mercury-tainted skin-lightening products from Pakistan through its ongoing monitoring and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) screening.
Yaz Beauty Cream Herbal + Natural White contains 1.638 percent or 16,380 ppm of mercury in violation of the ban on mercury-added cosmetics.
Driven by its advocacy to protect vulnerable populations from hazardous chemicals and waste, the group bought the Yaz product (manufactured in November 2025) from a local online dealer for P184. They then screened the product for mercury using a portable XRF analyzer.
According to the screening results, Yaz Beauty Cream Herbal + Natural White contains 16,380 parts per million (ppm) of mercury, which is explicitly banned in cosmetic products, such as skin lighteners, under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
The mercury content of the said anti-aging, brightening, moisturizing, and soothing cream drastically surpasses the 1 ppm limit under Pakistan Standard 3228-2017 and the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, while also exceeding the Minamata Convention’s 15 ppm limit for waste contaminated with mercury.
Before this, the EcoWaste Coalition found two other Yaz products, Yaz Beauty Cream Double White + Vitamin C and Yaz Gold Beauty Cream Active White + 24K Gold Dust, adulterated with mercury measured at 33,970 and 29,870 ppm, respectively.
To avoid mercury exposure through the use of contaminated skin lighteners, the EcoWaste Coalition urged the public to take these reminders to heart:
1. Embrace your natural skin color and challenge colorism, a form of discrimination or prejudice that favors people with lighter skin. Reject chemical whiteners entirely and take pride in your natural skin complexion.
2. Carefully review product packaging and look out for red flags, including poor labeling information and exaggerated product promises.
3. Stay alert: Banned or unauthorized cosmetics are still easy to find on online shopping and social media platforms.
4. Visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) verification portal at https://verification.fda.gov.ph/ before adding to cart or making a purchase.
5. If you experience skin rashes, discoloration, or other adverse symptoms after using products of unknown origin or composition, please seek immediate medical advice.
The EcoWaste Coalition has already notified the FDA about its latest toxic discovery.
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Reference:
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-CED-PHE-EPE-19.13
https://minamataconvention.org/en/topics/mercury-cosmetics