Every day, thousands of Kenyans scroll through Amazon, lured by the promise of variety and convenience. But a new report has exposed a harsh reality: what we buy there isn’t necessarily safe, especially for those of us in developing countries.
A new report released by the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) found that mercury-laden skin-lightening creams continue to be sold openly on Amazon websites in more than 23 countries, including across Africa and Asia. These products, often advertised with promises of glow or radiance, contain mercury levels thousands of times higher than the legal limit.
Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that can damage the kidneys, cause rashes and scarring, and harm unborn children. It builds up in the body and in the environment, poisoning water and soil long after the cream is washed off. The effects may not appear immediately, but years later, they show up as headaches, tremors, fatigue, and other chronic illnesses.
What makes this report deeply disturbing is the clear double standard it exposes. In the United States, following a recent legal settlement, Amazon has been forced to remove mercury-added skin lighteners and enforce strict third-party seller rules. Yet outside the U.S., the same company continues to allow these toxic products to flourish on its platforms, including versions easily available to Kenyan consumers.
Kenya banned mercury-added cosmetics years ago under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a treaty our country ratified to protect people and the planet from toxic exposure. But online sales have blurred the boundaries of regulation. The same pattern was revealed in an investigative study by CEJAD, which mapped the informal supply chain of skin-lightening creams and monitored their online sales. The study found that despite the national ban, mercury-added products remain widely available in the Kenyan market, particularly through e-commerce channels, posing serious risks to consumers and undermining enforcement efforts.
“This new ZMWG report further solidifies what our national findings have shown,” says Griffins Ochieng, Executive Director, Centre for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD). “E-commerce platforms are becoming key distribution channels for illegal, toxic products that put consumers at serious risk. We need stronger oversight, consistent enforcement, and greater accountability from online retailers to ensure that what is banned offline isn’t simply sold online, and what is banned in the developed countries isn’t simply circulated in the Global South.”
As the world prepares for the upcoming Minamata Convention discussions, this report is a reminder that the fight against mercury is far from over.
