Urgent Letter to FDA Thailand from EcoWaste Coalition, EARTH and IPEN-SEA

27 January 2025 | We write to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Royal Thai Government about the unlawful sale in online shopping platforms Lazada and Shopee of the following skin lightening cosmetics from Thailand.  Based on the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) screening conducted by the EcoWaste Coalition, these products are adulterated with mercury at levels exceeding the one part per million (ppm) limit under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, and the “Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Prescribing the Name of any Substance Prohibited for Use as an Ingredient in Cosmetic Production (No. 7) B.E. 2565 (2022).”

Bangkok Post 25 January 2025 

Activists have urged the government to amend relevant laws to address ineffective hazardous waste management practices, which have increased since an uptick in foreign investment.

Speaking at the "Ratchadamnoen Talk" organised by the Thai Journalists Association on Wednesday, Penchom Sae-Tang, director of Ecological Alert and Recovery - Thailand (EARTH), said many local communities countrywide are suffering from a polluted environment caused by very low standards in hazardous waste management.

29 November 2024 — As entering the 5th day of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on the “Global Plastics Treaty” in Busan, South Korea, in the morning, Penchom Saetang and Thitikorn Boontongmai, the representatives of the Ecological Alert and Recovery — Thailand (EARTH) have expressed their standpoints, along with the representatives from Greenpeace Thailand, and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). Together, they raise signs, “Stop hazardous chemicals In plastics”, in front of the INC-5 meeting hall, calling for the delegates and government representatives from all countries attending the INC-5 to show their sincerities to seriously resolve the plastic pollution crisis, and prioritize human health and the environment over economic values. 

Bangkok Post 29 November 2024 | Salisa Traipipitsiriwat and Penchom Saetang

On November 13, a coalition of 160 civil society organisations in Thailand made a historic plea, submitting a joint statement urging the Thai government to champion a strong Global Plastics Treaty at the upcoming fifth and final negotiations in Busan, South Korea. This treaty, initiated in 2022, aims to establish a legally binding global framework to address plastic pollution across its entire life cycle.

PRESS RELEASE | 28 November 2024

Study Finds Workers in Thailand are Exposed to Phthalates, Toxic Flame Retardants, and Other Harmful Plastic Chemicals 

A new study by EARTH Thailand and IPEN finds that plastic waste and recycling workers in Thailand are exposed to greater numbers of and higher levels of hazardous plastic chemicals compared to Thai workers in occupations without significant exposures to plastics. Chemicals assessed in the study include phthalates that are known endocrine disruptors, highly toxic flame retardants, cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other plastic chemicals.

Bangkok Post 21 November 2024 | Salisa Traipipitsiriwat and Penchom Saetang

Plastic pollution is a massive problem that needs to be solved collectively at the global level. Since the production and consumption of plastic around the world increases every year, the amount of plastic waste continues to rise accordingly. Throughout the life cycle of plastics, from upstream, midstream, and downstream production, or various forms of consumption and plastic recycling all cause severe pollution.  Between Nov 24 and Dec 1, over 170 nations will gather in Busan, South Korea, to negotiate the world's first legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution -- including in the marine environment -- more commonly known as the "Global Plastics Treaty".

Bangkok Post 14 November 2024

Civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the government to take action against plastic pollution and show its support for a global treaty on plastics. Twenty representatives from 160 CSOs made the call in a letter submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Wednesday. They called for drastic government action to end the perennial plastic waste problem.

13 Novemnber 2024

160 civil society organisations and academic groups call on the Royal Thai Government and governments around the world to develop an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty that aims to end plastic pollution throughout its entire life cycle, with a primary focus on the environment, human rights, and human health.