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By Georgette Uy
The shimmer behind our make-up products hold a dark and ugly truth. With a pinch of child labor, a dash of deforestation and a batchful of wage theft, beauty industries exploit laborers forcing them to work at mines. The secret to the iridescent sheen evident in makeup products comes from a pigment ingredient called mica. This sparkly make-up ingredient is not all it seems. Behind the veneer of colourful shades, expensive marketing, and the promises of beauty lies a dark production process.
According to the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), a non-profit organization that tackles issues related to sustainable development, “a quarter of the world’s mica comes from the eastern Indian states of Jharkhand and Bihar, where more than 22,000 children work in mica mines. Mines in these states are often illegal and unregulated.” Struggling to reach the mica deposits, workers are given no protective equipment and the poorly constructed mines often collapse. Cartels, operating illegal mines generate huge profits whilst children work for meagre wages and miss out on the education that holds the power to lift them from this spiral of poverty. Unfortunately, between 5-10 children die in the mines each month. On top of that, unreported adult fatalities are estimated to be much higher. This inhumane act are quietly covered up to allow the industry to continue to profiting from child labor. Some consumers unknowingly fuel the mica industry which strongly demonstrates the vital importance of purchasing ethically sourced products.
By good fortune, Organizations such as the Anti-Slavery International, Terre des Hommes, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, Thomas Reuters Foundation, and World Vision Canada are doing their best to campaign against child labor and exploitation. They are not the only ones advocating for change. According to the Shareholder Association for Research & Education (SHARE), some business leaders want the Canadian government to take action by requiring companies to disclose where they source mica. Only 18% of a pool of 60 Canadian companies with mica-containing products have provided detailed evidence of their commitment to preventing child labor in their supply chains. Until large cosmetic companies that hold huge influence and enormous buyer power can demonstrate their commitment to managing a fair supply chain, it might be time to support the emerging ethical brands.
What can we do to help?
Buy and support products that are ethically sourced.
Makeup brands that are part of the Responsible Mica Initiative, a non-governmental organization created to establish a fair, responsible, and sustainable mica supply chain in India include:
Burt’s Bees
Shiseido Brands
The Body Shop
Sephora collection
Revlon
L’oréal Brands (Urban Decay, Maybelline, Essie, and NYX)
Estée Lauder
Lab-made synthetic mica is used by brands such as Lush and Jane Iredale.
Other makeup brands such as Kjaer Weis, Kosas, and ColourPop ethically purchase mica from suppliers who mine the stone in Europe and Japan
Organizations working against Child Labor
1. Global March Against Child Labor
A wide network of civil society organizations, trade unions and teachers, who work together to eliminate and prevent all forms of child labor, slavery and trafficking and that all children have access to free and quality public education.
2. Love146
A non-government organization working to end child exploitation and serves children located in the United States, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and several countries in Africa.
3. Save the Children
One of the biggest NGO protecting children rights for over 120 countries. The organization works on building the capacities of duty bearers to deliver appropriate care and protection for children and advocates for policies and laws that are in line with the standards set out in the UN Convention on Rights of the Child
4. World Vision
one of the largest child-focused organizations in the world employing around 40.000 staff members working in nearly 100 countries. The organization’s task is to tackle the root causes of poverty and currently, it impacts the lives of over 200 million vulnerable children. World Vision helps all children, including survivors of child labor by helping them to return to normal life or remedying circumstances that led to exploration in the first place.
5. International Catholic Child Bureau:
BICE was established in 1948 as an international NGO that serves as an international network of 80 organizations from around the world, that defend dignity and rights of children
The organization implemented a project in Togo to protect 600 children a year and to influence the issue on national level. It used emergency hotlines, media and public awareness as well as child care.
Learn more from these Websites:
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