Mercury Danger: EcoWaste Coalition Tags Two More Pakistan-Made Beauty Creams

These two Pakistan-made skin lightening products contain high levels of mercury, which is prohibited in cosmetic product formulations.

25 May 2026, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog EcoWaste Coalition has identified two more Pakistan-made skin lightening products with high levels of mercury in flagrant violation of the global ban on mercury-added cosmetics under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Mercury, a highly toxic chemical, is banned in cosmetics because it accumulates in the body and causes serious health problems, including skin rashes, discoloration, scarring, and damage to the brain, nervous system, and kidneys. Mercury exposure is extremely dangerous for pregnant women and fetal development.

Like most of the Pakistan-made mercury-laced cosmetics flagged by the EcoWaste Coalition, the products were purchased from online sellers, providing further evidence of the unrestrained use of e-commerce sites to market dangerous mercury-laden cosmetics. The group used a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer to screen the products for mercury.

XRF screening allows rapid analysis of the mercury content of this product, measured at 2.727 percent or  27,270 parts per million.

Fresh & White Beauty Cream, manufactured in July 2025 and sold for P211, was found to contain 27,270 parts per million (ppm) of mercury. The California Department of Health (CDPH) has also tested this product and found it laced with 24,000 ppm of mercury, advising consumers to stop using it immediately. The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has likewise tested and banned this product.

The other product, Arayna Papaya Glow Beauty Cream, manufactured in August 2025 and sold for P189, was analyzed to contain 16,930 ppm of mercury.

These cosmetics are advertised and sold as "export quality" products that brighten the skin, remove blemishes, smooth wrinkles, and solve other skin woes.

Arayna (a word similar to "Reyna," signifying Queen, regal qualities, power, and grace) promises to "make yourself look even younger than before," enticing consumers with its tagline "be arayna, feel arayna."

Fresh & White, which claims to be "the only cream that gives complete fairness," is loaded with mercury despite the manufacturer's "commitment to quality" and the product being "tested by a qualified team of dermatologists."

The EcoWaste Coalition pushes for the strict enforcement of the global ban on the production and trade of mercury-added cosmetics.

To date, the EcoWaste Coalition has detected mercury in 42 Pakistan-made beauty creams, most of which were sourced from third-party online sellers.

On February 10 and April 23, 2026, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued public health warnings against the purchase and use of five such products, which EcoWaste Coalition determined and reported as contaminated with mercury.

Among these five products were Due Beauty Cream, Parley 24K Gold Gleam Beauty Cream, Tibet Snow, Yaz Beauty Cream, and Yaz Gold Beauty Cream.

The EcoWaste Coalition will report its latest toxic discoveries to the FDA, so the public can be officially warned against the adverse health effects of consuming such dangerous cosmetics with mercury.

References:

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/EHIB/CPE/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Consumer_Alert_Face_Creams_Mercury.pdf
https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/bangladesh-bans-17-pakistani-face-creams-dangerous-levels-mercury-457510