Great news for SBMAmazon has pulled more than a dozen skin-lightening products with dangerous levels of mercury off its website after pushback from Minnesota public-health and environmental activists. Many such creams remain popular among some communities of colour despite containing mercury. Adawe, who has worked on this issue for years locally, is now focused on targeting the retail giants.
She collaborated with the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group, in addition to the Mercury Policy Project to examine the skin-lightening creams sold on the Amazon site. Out of the 24 that were tested, 15 showed high levels of mercury.
Such products are not heavily regulated despite having illegal toxins in them, said Mary Blitzer of the local Sierra Club branch.