A Life of Shine

Published on by

A Life of Shine

Taking a look at the back story behind all that glitters.

Cosmetics are supposed to be fun, a tool to help you express who you are, who you want to be, how you feel. With bright colours and soft textures to facilitate the telling of stories, celebrate beauty and frame nature's perfection.So what happens when you realize that all that glitters comes at a human price?


The business of mining mica has for many years been one of the cosmetic industries dirty little secrets but now the time has come to tackle this once and for all.

Mica, that beautiful iridescent mineral, a mineral that brings life and brilliance to make-up, wash products and hair sprays the world over. Mica itself isn't the problem, the problem is the fact that children are involved in its mining.

The story of cosmetic grade mica starts in West Bengal in an area called Jharkhand. This is a rich mining area with bauxite, coal, copper, iron ore and manganese up for grabs but despite the natural riches and recent industrialization and investment much of the population remain impoverished as India struggles to drag its people out of the poverty trap.

With its population of over 1.2 billion people India has a lot on its social welfare plate. Poverty rates are improving but still sit above 20% meaning that one in every five people can't meet their basic human needs of food and shelter. Just how that 'poverty line' is drawn is of course political with different measures producing different results of which 20% is the most conservative.

Child Labor has long been a scar on India's heart. Nobody wants to see their children working at all let alone seven days a week in dangerous conditions, being paid a pittance or in some cases being sold in order to pay family debts but it pays to remember that this is a push rather than a pull issue. The children are primarily pushed into work because of poverty - a need to eat, to afford shelter. It is easy to sit here in Australia and imagine that these children must be being pulled or lured into work by business seeking to save a few dollars. That isn't to say that can't happen either, more that it is just so complex an issue.

The Indian government acknowledges the problem and has been attempting to improve the status quo for its most vulnerable citizens for tens of years. However, the implementation of the Child Labor Prohibition and Regulation act that came into law in 1986 has had little impact on the ground with conservative estimates putting the numbers at over 13 million currently. Putting that into perspective that is around half of the entire population of Australia - imagine every second person you know or meet to be a child laborer, working just to feed their family!

So what can a company like New Directions do?

Implementing change, enforcing laws, improving conditions all require money and time and so the first step is to see this raising of awareness as the first step on a long road to fairness, safety and equality. Simply avoiding mica or opting for synthetic alternatives may be counter productive as the first people to lose out are the very people who such a boycott is aimed at protecting.

The Indian government has showed that they are more than willing and ready to take this issue seriously but they also know that isn't enough. The non government organization sector of India is also highly active in this area with groups such as Bachpan Bachao Andolan working hard to make a difference on the ground by providing alternatives to work - school, food, shelter, guardianships.But it is still not enough and the support and buy-in of the global market is crucial. Children can't just be removed from mines and banned from working for their own protection without a plan B to go to.For many of these youngsters it is the very fact that they can work alongside their parents and contribute to the weekly pay check that keeps them fed and (relatively) safe. This is a sad tale indeed but not one that can't be fixed.

The most important thing that we can do right now is to keep supporting the mica industry but in a way that shows where our loyalties lie. We need to find a way to demonstrate how much we value this precious material and how deeply we value the rights and welfare of the children and families that make it possible. We need to talk about this, put our money where our mouth is and encourage all sectors to work together to support a future that both India and we as consumers can be proud of. The main players in the cosmetic mica industry have pledged to help address this problem. Focusing on investing in schools, safe villages and other forms of enablement. Again, this takes time and in the meantime the reality that children continue to be involved in this industry sits heavily.

New Directions have pledged to keep this conversation happening, to keep supporting the manufacturers and down stream supply chains that are putting their money where their mouth is and keep working towards a fairer future.We can't necessarily fix the problem of poverty in India but we can all do our bit to support a brighter, shinier future.

The New Directions Promise:

  • To work with mica producers who not only have a human rights policy but who are actively implementing and policing this.
  • To work with mica producers who are re-investing in grass roots solutions for mining communities.
  • To remain vigilant in regards to changes in the mica market ensuring our clients are kept in the loop.

So back to the cosmetics industry and to mica, that glittering jewel that sparkles up our bottles, lipsticks, body washes and creams.The supply chain for this open cast mined mineral is complex. Companies own mines but miners work in gangs that are often family based. Families swap and change their workers so that they can keep one step ahead of the law. These family groups combine into gangs which are independently managed, the gangs contract to the mines the mines then form partnerships or deals with mineral processors (the mica has to be machined to make it reach cosmetic spec) and these processors then sell onto the multi-nationals for further processing or utilizing in production.It is very, very difficult to manage this paper trail from afar as there are always ways of making the paperwork tick the box even if reality doesn't.

The Mica Supply Chain

Image adapted from Merck supply chain document.

The situation on the ground is of great interest to the big players in the Cosmetics Industry with all of the multinationals engaging in triple-bottom-line accounting to their share-holders. This includes supply chain issues such as workplace safety, child labor, sanitation, environmental stewardship and community outreach. That said Merck - a major supplier of mica to the cosmetics industry is no stranger to this issue having felt the wrath of the German people back in 2011 after it was found that their supply chain included the employment of children from a Jharkhand region mica mine.But it wouldn't just be Merck that is affected by this. From my research I can't find a single guarantee against child labor from mica miners in India despite the laws and good will for a positive outcome.

  • To encourage clients to value this precious resource and engage their customers in conversation about this and other supply chain issues.
  • To continue to source a variety of high quality ingredients for our clients.
  • To educate and be forthcoming with information and documentation.

Amanda Foxon-Hill

31 January 2014

References:

The poverty line in India.
Economics of Mica Mining
Merck in India
Child Labor in Mica Mining. Cosmetic Design 2009
Mining weekly - Child Labor Issues

More about: Cosmetics, Mica

This post has been closed; further comments cannot be added.