Canceling Skin Lighteners: COP5 Urges Global Mercury Ban in Cosmetics via Personal Care Insights

The fifth Conference of the Parties (COP5) has highlighted the danger and need to phase out mercury intentionally formulated into skin care products across global markets, with the participation of 115 parties at the Minamata Convention on Mercury in Geneva, Switzerland.

The COP requested a report to be developed and presented at COP6, based on information provided by the Minamata parties and stakeholders, on the challenges in preventing the manufacture and trade of mercury-added cosmetics, such as (online) sales, and the measures to address those.

The governing body aims to place a ban on the manufacture and trade of all “mercury-added cosmetics” — instead of only those containing “over one part per million mercury” — that will be adopted by 2025, apart from unavoidable traces, banning cosmetics with mercury from being sold on markets.

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