Zero Mercury Working Group

The Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) is an international coalition of more than 110 public interest environmental and health non-governmental organizations from over 55 countries around the world formed in 2005 by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and the Mercury Policy Project. ZMWG strives for zero supply, demand, and emissions of mercury from all anthropogenic sources, intending to reduce mercury in the global environment to a minimum. The mission now is to advocate and support the implementation and enforcement of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Toxics Link supported this global campaign on Mercury-Added Skin-Lightening Creams, conducted by the EEB in collaboration with the ZMWG, by joining in the national government efforts to ban the manufacture, import, export and use of mercury-added cosmetics (with mercury content over 1 ppm). In this framework, skin-lightening products were sampled from local markets as well as online marketing portals like Flipkart and Amazon India and tested in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The findings are regularly shared with concerned stakeholders through print media, social media, report, events to raise awareness. In 2023 as well Toxics Link is participating in this effort by ZMWG and EEB.