Recently I was stopped by a TikTok video from India about the dark side of the COSMETICS INDUSTRY where a lot of child laborers work in the Mica mines which is an essential component of Cosmetics. Especially the Skincare products. So, I wanted to deep dive into the facts and I am going to share what I find which is really shocking! How in this modern era such illicit by the big corporation and industrial mafias are being promoted by the govts in many poor countries like India as reported in this news-India's mica mines: The shameful truth behind mineral make-up's shimmer. In spite of the Covid-19 situation worldwide, the beauty and cosmetics industry has experienced solid growth as the online marketing has evolved in a large scale worldwide. The total Revenue in the Beauty & Personal Care market amounts to US$528.60bn in 2022 which is a record in recent times. The market is expected to grow annually by 4.64% (CAGR 2022-2027). In the Beauty & Personal Care market, 25.4% of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2022 due to the Covid-19 situationstatista.

Skincare was the leading category, accounting for about 42 percent of the global market. Haircare products made up a further 22 percent, while make-up accounted for 16 percent in 2020 statista. As usual, the North-America and European market is always the leading market but in recent times constant growth is also noticed in the Asia-pacific countries which are relatively in lower income zone. But the industry has started rising fast after the slowdown of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

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Why mining is increasing

Cosmetics are products produced to cleanse, protect and change the appearance of our skin, especially which parts we want to expose to other people the key ingredients which are in significant proportions are something that will make our skin a shiny one. For shining purposes MICA is the mostly used material. Most of the people use such products containing mica daily without realizing the crucial story behind their production. As Mica is an essential mineral commonly used in products such as cosmetics, paints, and electronics. For most people living in the Western world making something shiny is from MICA but extracting mica is often linked to the worst forms of child labor in several parts of the world. For example, India and Madagascar are the two largest exporters of sheet mica globally where most of the mica mining is illegal mines where most of the workers are child laborers. The report published by DW shows the pathetic condition of the child laborers in India in this video.

Bihar and Jharkhand are among India’s most impoverished region where the majority of illegal mica mines in India are located . It is estimated that 22,000 children work in mica mines in Jharkhand and Bihar, but as mines that employ children do not report it, giving the exact numbers is impossible.

According to the findings of the US Department of Labor, in Madagascar, around 10,000 children work in the mica sector. Most of the mines are located in the southern region of Madagascar, where children are charged with tasks ranging from building the mines to extracting and sorting the mineral.

In India, for their labor, children who mine mica get around fifty rupees a day, equivalent to less than seventy cents. The rates are similar in Madagascar. As the mica goes through a supply chain, however, wholesalers can get more than a thousand US dollars for a kilogram of it. That illustrates how unjust the industry is and how severe human rights violations happening in mica mines are.

Is it imaginable they are paid only half a dollar per day by ruining their health, education and their future. But the government is almost blinf in these cases as they are heavily paid by the culprits of the giant companies and industrialists!

Dangers for children

Mining of mica is a labor-intensive procedure that requires going into the narrow cave that frequently collapses many children die in such accidents. But in these area children are compelled to go underground to find mica where proper lighting facility is not supplied and they often find themselves in complete darkness. Besides the long narrow tunnel, they are constantly exposed to harmful dust leading to pneumonia and some severe respiratory diseases. In addition, they are not equipped with proper tools that lead to chemical exposure of their skin and hands which causes skin cancer also and many infections!

We the end users of these products should be aware of such things and there should be some strong laws prohibiting children from such unhuman life. If the giant cosmetics giant makes sure that their products are produced with the MICA from the well-maintained mines where child labor is prohibited and they promote that, then the situation will be better. But they often try to hide such realities which should be under constant supervision by the government.

Thanks a lot for your time and attention.
Have a nice day!