EEB/ZMWG Input on Access to Justice to inform the preparation of the thematic report of the Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights

On 25 March 2025, the European Environmental Bureau/ Zero Mercury Working Group submitted their input to the Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights for the upcoming report on Access to Justice and Effective Remedies in the Context of Toxics. Our submission focuses on mercury-added skin lightening products (Hg/SLPs), highlighting key challenges in litigating mercury poisoning cases and providing an example of a successful lawsuit against Amazon.com regarding Hg/SLPs.

Toxic product cases can be considered harder to litigate than environmental disasters because victims suffer individually, often over time, with symptoms that can appear sometimes years after exposure. Despite mercury-added SLPs (Hg/SLPs) being banned in many countries and their effects being well documented, legal action against manufacturers remains rare. While regulatory mechanisms exist to detect, recall, and ban unsafe products, these systems do not always lead to justice or compensation for affected consumers. Several legal and procedural barriers make it difficult to hold manufacturers accountable.