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QUEZON CITY — While women’s contributions to society are celebrated during the National Women’s Month, the EcoWaste Coalition is demanding real action from government regulators and administrators of online shopping and social media platforms: protect women from hazardous products, specifically mercury-laced skin lightening products, which threaten women’s health and the safety of their families.

“We appeal to e-commerce regulators to use their powers under the Internet Transactions Act and related laws to enforce the prohibitions against skin-lightening products with mercury content to protect our women and their families, knowing exposure risks can extend beyond the primary users of contaminated cosmetics,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Administrators of online shopping and social media platforms must take down without delay all product listings and related materials promoting the consumption of products flagged by health authorities or civil society groups due to mercury adulteration and/or for lacking the required authorization,” she said, emphasizing “they need not wait for takedown orders to protect their customers.”

The EcoWaste Coalition’s latest call for action came on the heels of the monitoring conducted by student interns from the University of Rizal System (URS), confirming the presence of hundreds of online product listings for mercury-containing and other unauthorized skin-lightening products. The monitoring was conducted between March 10 and 16, 2026.

The interns identified 1,041 product listings on Shopee, Lazada, Carousell, Alibaba, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for skin-lightening products flagged by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for containing mercury and/or lacking market authorization. A similar monitoring conducted in July 2025 identified 1,146 online listings for mercury and mercury-added products, including 1,057 for non-compliant skin lighteners.

Among the FDA-flagged products with the most number of product listings and related promotional materials were Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene, Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream, Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream and the newly-introduced Goree 4-in-1 Beauty Kit and Goree Gold 24K 3-in-1 Beauty Kit, as well as other Pakistan-made products such as Faiza Beauty Cream, Golden Pearl Beauty Cream, Parley Goldie Advanced Beauty Cream, and Sandal Beauty Cream.

Product listings for China-made skincare products such as Aichun, Ailke, BIB, Feique Jiaoli, and S’Zitang were also found, as were listings for Thailand-made 4K Plus, 88 Total White, Dr. Yahnee, and Meyyong products, Indonesia-made Collagen Plus Vit E, and Malaysia-made Erna. Some of these products may be counterfeits.

Previous studies by the EcoWaste Coalition of skin lightening products sold online have detected extremely high mercury concentrations in numerous samples at levels way above the one part per million (ppm) trace amount limit for mercury under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.

Other studies have also affirmed the prevalence of mercury-laden cosmetics peddled online. For instance, a study published in 2025 by researchers from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) detected mercury ranging from 1.8 ppm to 144,894 ppm in 58 percent of the 134 samples of skin lightening products bought online from seven Asian countries, including the Philippines, “reflecting significant regulatory gaps.”

“The findings highlight widespread non-compliance with safety standards, especially for online cosmetics, where regulatory oversight is limited,” the report abstract stated. “Immediate action is needed to strengthen enforcement, enhance consumer awareness, and implement routine monitoring to address the health risks posed by mercury-containing cosmetics.”

Aside from urging government regulators and digital platform administrators to act, the EcoWaste Coalition implored consumers, especially women, to shun chemical whiteners, resist color-based bias, discrimination, and prejudice, and embrace the natural color of one’s skin at birth, noting that beauty and success come in every shade.

IN THE Philippines, geography has long shaped how e-commerce works. Distance adds cost, islands add time, and access has often depended on where sellers and buyers are located. As Shopee Philippines, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Brazil, marks more than a decade in the country, it continues to strengthen its capabilities in Visayas and Mindanao as part of its long-term commitment to improving access nationwide.

Over the years, e-commerce has become an essential channel for Filipino consumers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Yet outside major urban centers, moving goods across islands has remained a practical constraint, affecting how quickly sellers can reach customers and how easily buyers can access products available elsewhere in the country.

Impact of strengthening access in VisMin

For many buyers in Visayas and Mindanao, what’s available to them is becoming less defined by where sellers are located.

In an archipelagic country like the Philippines, Shopee supports this shift by enabling sellers to position products closer to buyers through platform-supported solutions, helping make access less dependent on distance and geography.

Through Fulfilled by Shopee (FBS), sellers have the option to store inventory in Shopee-supported facilities, with packing and shipping handled by an ecosystem of third-party logistics partners through the platform. By easing fulfillment complexity, FBS helps sellers focus on growing their businesses, from improving products and pricing competitively to serving customers more consistently, while helping make access more reliable for buyers in Visayas and Mindanao.

For buyers, this means more consistent availability of everyday items and reduced reliance on long cross-island routes. As a result, average delivery times for many VisMin orders have been reduced from around seven days to about three to four days, supporting more predictable delivery timelines and costs for both sellers and buyers

“Making e-commerce work for the whole country means continuing to build capabilities that serve both buyers and sellers wherever they live,” said Vincent Lee, head of Shopee Philippines. “Our focus in Visayas and Mindanao builds on years of work to make buying and selling online easier and more reliable, while improving access for communities outside major urban centers.

Supporting MSMEs and local participation

Shopee’s work in Visayas and Mindanao also builds on its broader support for the Filipino MSMEs. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino sellers have spent more than 110,000 hours on Shopee University courses, equivalent to more than 12 straight years of learning, as entrepreneurs build practical skills in pricing, marketing, customer service, and day-to-day business operations.

Alongside these efforts, Shopee expects its VisMin operations to support around 1,500 employment opportunities by 2026, across platform operations and seller enablement roles that support participation and growth within the e-commerce ecosystem.

As Shopee enters its next decade in the Philippines, the focus remains on the long-term work of building services and solutions that expand access, support livelihoods, and help e-commerce grow more evenly across the country.

EcoWaste Coalition flags 1,041 illegal and unsafe online product listings

Shopee enables faster, more accessible e-commerce nationwide, benefiting communities across Visayas and Mindanao