EcoWaste Coalition lauds Lazada for removing banned toxic products from website

MANILA — The EcoWaste Coalition lauded online retailer Lazada for its action to protect its customers from the fraudulent sale of banned consumer goods containing mercury and other prohibited substances.

Lazada on Monday removed from its website lazada.com.ph several product advertisements following a report from the EcoWaste Coalition that these items were among those prohibited by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

Among those products banned by the government and offered for sale at lazada.com.ph and olx.ph were skin whitening cosmetics laden with mercury and slimming products containing amphetamine, sibutramine and steroids.

“We welcome the speedy action taken by Lazada to protect its patrons from buying banned items that could expose them to toxic mercury and other health-damaging substances,” said Thony Dizon, Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect.

According to its website, “Lazada operates Southeast Asia number one online shopping mall in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.” Their website is visited by more than 45 million unique visitors monthly. Lazada has over 10 million plus Facebook fans.

“We hope that olx.ph and other online retailers will follow suit and disallow the use of their e-platforms for the unlawful sale of dangerous goods, which are mostly illegal imports, that could put the health of their customers at risk,” he added.

In a statement issued Monday, Lazada Philippines announced that it has delisted from its website the products containing prohibited substances as reported by the EcoWaste Coalition.

“Following the report that a few products listed on Lazada.com.ph contain banned substances, Lazada has since removed the products and is issuing a full refund to affected customers,” it said.

“We are committed to having trusted merchants on our website, who are expected to be fully compliant with local laws and regulations,” the company added.

“Lazada also proactively requests for Food and Drug Administration permits from merchants,” it further said.

“We have a zero tolerance policy and will remove any sellers not abiding by our guidelines,” Lazada said in a statement.

Lazada has offered to refund affected customers .

Customers may contact the company’s customer service teat at (02) 795-8900.