Poisoning for Profit: Amazon’s Double Standard

This report documents the ongoing availability of mercury added skin lightening products (SLPs) on Amazon websites around the world, despite a recent legal settlement with Amazon.com in the United States. The legal settlement in the U.S.—negotiated by the U.S. State of California Attorney General and citizen enforcers—requires Amazon.com to eliminate sales offerings of toxic SLPs into California, but generally applies to the entire U.S. Unfortunately, it does not apply to the E-commerce giant’s other sales operations outside the U.S. in over 20 countries, with dedicated websites still selling mercury added SLPs into over 100 countries.

This report builds upon previous work of the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) in exposing the toxic and often illegal trade in mercury added SLPs globally and, in this particular case, sales offerings by Amazon worldwide. Although banned by the Minamata Convention and numerous governments, the manufacture, trade, advertising and sales of mercury added SLPs often continue unimpeded on the largest E-commerce platform in the world, who has pledged that “…every product for sale is safe.”