Due to the dollar crisis, the tariffs on famous brand cosmetics are now high, fake cosmetics traders are taking this opportunity to market fake products and they are trying to release different brand products in the market by counterfeiting them, where beautification products are the most counterfeited products.
A skin lightening cream called 'Screen Shine' is being sold in the cosmetics shops of Moulvibazar. It is an Indian product but the anti-adulteration team did not find any information about its importer in the raid.
The product is manufactured illegally in the country and marketed by unscrupulous traders. It uses a prohibited substance called hydroquinone, which is harmful to the skin. The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) Act prohibits the use of these chemicals in cosmetics. But from the country's largest cosmetic market, this harmful cream is now spreading to remote areas.
Recently, a team of the Department of Consumer Affairs in the capital's Moulvibazar conducted a surveillance operation to check whether the prohibited chemical substance called hydroquinone is being used in cosmetics based on the information received earlier. But the traders behaved discourteously towards the raiders at that time. As a result, there are many traders of adulterated cosmetics in the country. The National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate is not sitting to stop them. If the adulterers are charged, the fines are higher than before and the establishments are also being closed down. If necessary, a case is being filed.
The importer's information and maximum retail price are being put on the packaging of cosmetic products by the sellers as they like. There is a risk of product adulteration. In addition, the packaging of the product does not mention the ingredients, quantity, usage, date of manufacture and expiry date.
Traders are counterfeiting foreign products and manufacturing them inside the country and selling them as foreign products. Face creams, skin lightening creams and other cosmetics are being sold in the market without BSTI approval. Although the use of the chemical hydroquinone in face creams is restricted, it is still used in many creams.
Ahead of Eid, the sale of adulterated cosmetics has already started in the market. The concerned said that the traders are not following the packaging rules. Using toxic chemicals in products. which is harmful to the skin.
Most of the capital's cosmetic shops are not using importer's stickers on foreign products. It is not known whether the trader is selling genuine or fake products. Again, because there is no sticker, the seller is collecting extra price from the buyer by applying stickers at will.
Most of the products that the sellers are selling in the name of foreign products are illegal. They cannot provide any information on its importer. When the operation was conducted, they said, a syndicate came to them and gave these products. Many of these are also expired. These also do not have any BSTI seal. Different cosmetics from home and abroad including night cream, serum, soothing gel are now being sold online. There are many questions about their quality.
But due to lack of proper supervision, the concerned people think that the products sold from different pages are harming the consumers. According to them, those who sell products online often do not buy products from importers. In this case, there is a risk of product adulteration.
Manzoor Mohammad Shahriar, Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) told Bangladesh Pratidin, “In different buildings of Moulvibazar, adulterated and fake cosmetics are made. A major operation against adulterated cosmetics will be conducted there soon. Apart from this, we are checking the cosmetic products that are available in different shopping malls in the elite areas of Dhaka. If someone other than the importer brings the product, they will be fined under the law.”
“Some companies in the country have already earned a reputation for manufacturing quality products. We encourage users to use the products of these companies to avoid adulteration,” he added.
AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of National Consumers' Right Protection (DNCRP), “If fake products are found in any market, the relevant market will be held responsible and action will be taken against the market association. Meanwhile, a bill has been raised in Parliament to market substandard and fake cosmetics.”
“The 'Drugs and Cosmetics' Bill adds the word cosmetics to the existing drug law and states that licenses from the Medicines Administration have been made mandatory for doing business in cosmetics,” he added.
@The report was published in Bengali on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on April 12 and rewritten in English by Tanvir Raihan
