Recently, the Philippine environmental organization Ecowaste Coalition criticized the continued online sale of mercury-containing Thai skincare and cosmetic products in the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, even after being flagged by health product regulatory agencies in these countries.

At the same time, criticism was directed at online shopping giants Lazada and Shopee for possibly not taking sufficient measures to prevent third-party entrepreneurs from using their platforms to sell non-compliant products.

Image source: Facebook

In recent years, cosmetics with excessive mercury have become a "hidden minefield" in the Southeast Asian cross-border market. According to Ecowaste Coalition, such products can cause skin ulceration and pigmentation at best, and at worst can lead to kidney failure and neurological damage.

The experience of Indonesian consumer Nur Lenny Astia is a concrete manifestation of industry risks. Due to continuous use of a certain non-compliant face cream for two years, she suffered severe facial pigmentation and psychological problems. After investigation by relevant departments, it was found that the product had already been banned from sale in Indonesia as early as 2011, yet it still appeared on sales platforms.

In response to the current market chaos, the Philippine government has joined forces with customs, health, and other departments to carry out special rectification actions. Cross-border sellers who hit these "mines" will face multiple risks. Taking Indonesian law as a reference, violators can be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.

Image source: Ecowaste Coalition

In addition to the crisis of excessive mercury, counterfeit cosmetics also threaten the industry ecosystem. Last June, Hanoi police in Vietnam seized nearly 30 tons of counterfeit beauty products, involving an amount of 575 million Vietnamese dong (about 168,000 RMB); Thai consumers suffered eye infections from using poor-quality mascara; cases of Vietnamese buyers being hospitalized with allergic dermatitis after using unregulated products are frequent.

These incidents reflect systemic risks such as loss of supply chain quality control in cross-border e-commerce product selection, weak cross-border regulatory cooperation, and intellectual property infringement.

After all, cosmetics come into direct contact with human skin, and any ingredient issues (such as illegal addition of hormones, heavy metals, or banned substances) can trigger health crises and legal disputes, so they require sufficient attention.

Nearly 1,250 boxes, about 30 tons of counterfeit goods. Image source: Internet

Faced with the serious problems that counterfeit and inferior cosmetics bring to consumer health and market order, e-commerce platforms have now reached a consensus to strictly investigate and control the cosmetics industry as an important task.

In March this year, the Chamber of Cosmetics Industry of the Philippines (CCIP) joined forces with 18 leading companies to sign an e-commerce Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to address the circulation of counterfeit cosmetics.

Image source: IPOPHL

Currently, the Southeast Asian beauty market is undergoing a "compliance exam."

In light of this situation, sellers are advised to immediately conduct self-inspection: first, check the mercury content test reports for whitening and spot-removal products; second, remove products blacklisted by the FDA and drug regulatory agencies in ASEAN countries; third, establish a supplier ingredient traceability mechanism.

After all, compliant operation is the long-term solution. "Defying regulations" harms both others and oneself, and is truly inadvisable.

(Note: All information in this article comes from public reports and platform data; actual circumstances are subject to official information.)