EcoWaste Coalition Urges Cosmetics Companies to Recall Products Containing Banned Ingredients in Philippines

The EcoWaste Coalition, a toxics product watchdog group in Philippines, urged manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of cosmetics containing banned ingredients to promptly recall their non-compliant products.

The group’s earlier investigations uncovered 15 imported as well as locally-produced cosmetics being sold in the local market that still contain banned isobutylparaben and isopropylparaben as ingredients.

Isobutylparaben and isopropylparaben, along with benzylparaben, pentylparaben and phenyparaben, had been included in the “list of substances which must not form part of the composition of cosmetic products” under the ASEAN Cosmetics Directive.

Thony Dizon, Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect said: “While the other types of parabens are still permitted under current regulations, these five parabens should no longer be added to cosmetics. The government has given the cosmetics industry enough time to reformulate and replace the banned parabens with permissible preservatives. For the health and safety of consumers, we urge the concerned companies to take every non-compliant product off store shelves.”

The EcoWaste Coalition recently found banned isobutylparaben and isopropylparaben listed as ingredients in some skin moisturizing lotion, skin whitening cream and lotion, sun protection lotion, body wash, cleanser, liquid hand soap and foot scrub cream.

According to Philippines Food and Drugs Administration Circular 2015-008, cosmetics that contain any of those five parabens were banned after December 31, 2015. The agency reiterated the said grace period through FDA Circular 2015-014, which means that cosmetics containing the banned parabens will no longer be allowed in the market by January 1, 2016. (You may also want to read ASEAN Bans Five Parabens in Cosmetics.)

Philippines FDA said: “Cosmetic companies are advised to recall their products containing the above mentioned ingredients by the end of the grace period. All cosmetic companies responsible for placing cosmetic products in the market which are found to be out of specifications shall be subjected to appropriate legal actions.”