Does My Makeup Have Mica From India

Hello Beauties,

We get asked about mica a lot and we're then thankful that brands, consumers, and the industry are starting to enquire these questions. Change can only brainstorm when these bug are brought out of the darkness.

In this blog, nosotros'll chat about:

• What mica is + how it'due south used in cosmetics.
• Kid labor in mica mining.
• Our stance on mica.
• Natural vs synthetic mica.
• What you can do to back up this consequence.

WHAT IS MICA?

'Mica' refers to a grouping of minerals used to give sparkle to consumer products. 37 different varieties of mica are found and mined all over the world, with the majority coming from illegal mines in Bharat and Republic of madagascar.

MICA IN COSMETICS

The cosmetics manufacture is the 4^th largest buyer of mica, subsequently electronics, painting, and construction.

Mica is found in most beauty and personal care products. Basically, if a production shimmers, shines, or gives 'a glow', it probably has mica in it. Products ranging from eyeshadow and blush to toothpaste and conditioner use mica's natural sparkle.

On ingredient labels, await for: Mica, C1 77019, Potassium Aluminum Silicate, Glimmer, Kaliglimmer, or Muskovit.

ILLEGAL MICA MINING & CHILD LABOR

The corrupt, cruel reality of illegal mica mining is no secret. Thankfully this outcome has been exposed and brought into the light for government, industry, brands, and consumers to run into. We cannot make a change, nor make an informed, aligned determination unless nosotros open our eyes to the whole truth.

The mica mining manufacture is huge – this one grouping of minerals amounts to nigh a half billion dollars in merchandise every year. And at least 25% of information technology comes from illegal, unethical mining operations in Jharkhand, Bihar, and Rajasthan in India. Mining in poverty-stricken areas of Madagascar make up some other huge office of the pie – an area known for the use of kid labor.

In India alone, over 22,000 children work as mica laborers – some as young every bit 5 years old.

Paradigm Credit: Terre des Hommes

The miners, many of them children, labor all twenty-four hours in the dangerous mines, and sift through their findings in the scorching sun. The smallest children are sent into dark, narrow shafts upward to 300 meters deep to mine the mica that adults tin can't reach. They run a risk cuts, cleaved basic, and if droppings falls or the tunnel caves in, they can die. They live with that fear every time they enter the tunnels. They've seen their friends and family members lose their lives.

One story from a Refinery 29 video is particularly heartbreaking: 2 sisters were working in the tunnel of a mine when the earth caved in on them. The older sis, Sumar escaped with severe scarring, simply her sister Lakshmi did not survive. The family, including Sumar, withal work in the mines every 24-hour interval. They have no other selection if they want to eat.

Lakshmi'due south tragic death is i of ten - 20 kid deaths that occur every month in Indian mines.

"Although in that location are no official figures on child deaths in the mines, as it is all illegal, we hear near them through our networks in the villages where we work. Normally we hear about 10 fatalities on average a month, just in June [2016] we documented over 20 deaths." - Raj Bhushan, via a Thomas Reuters Foundation report

For their labor, these children (and adults) make 25 to l cents per twenty-four hour period, depending on the amount of mica they dig up. A kg earns them nigh viii cents Us. This same kg can sell on the international marketplace for up to $1000. This money, however limited, is how these families survive. Because of the extremely low wages, the parents depend on the whole family working to put food on the table.

One time the mica is mined, it's then sold through several layers of middlemen and intermediaries, making it very difficult to trace the mica back to its kid-labor roots. If yous're buying mica from Republic of india or Republic of madagascar, information technology's nearly incommunicable to be sure that information technology was obtained ethically or legally.

This lack of visibility or proof of upstanding practice is what has informed our own stance on mica.

OUR STANCE ON MICA

We use a combination of natural and synthetic mica. When we employ natural mica, we source only from U.S. suppliers with ethical labor standards. We avert all mica from Bharat or Madagascar where labor standards are unregulated and child labor is rampant.

Nosotros cull constructed mica when we tin can't vet and guarantee that the source of our mica is child-labor-complimentary. Though it'southward more than expensive, it's worth it to know nosotros are not contributing to any impairment on this planet, and especially non to children.

Synthetic mica is also purer and can create a more vibrant colour and smooth. We balance our ethically-sourced natural mica with this synthetic version to create that perfect balance of depth, texture, smoothen, and color throughout our eyeshadow palettes.

While we know that mica mining is the livelihood for many families in India, nosotros cannot participate in the suffering and deaths of children, and until that ends, we must remove ourselves from the expanse. We are pushing for change past supporting mica that is kid-labor-gratis and spreading the truth to consumers and this industry.

NATURAL VS Synthetic MICA

Constructed mica is made in a lab and has the same characteristics as natural mica. The differences between natural and synthetic mica are:

• The color: synthetic mica is brighter and very uniform in colour and cease. Natural mica can be grayness or murkier in color. They each create unlike effects and colors.
• Shape: natural mica naturally has uneven edges, whereas constructed mica has a very smooth surface and shape. This means you can utilize a much larger particle of synthetic mica since information technology'due south smooth and not abrasive like natural mica. The larger the particle, the sparklier a product volition appear.
• The sourcing: synthetic mica requires no mining and has no potential for child labor.
• Contagion: natural mica has the potential for contamination with heavy metals and other impurities. Heavy metal levels can be tested before usage in a formula, simply this is voluntary and not all brands practise.

Why doesn't everyone just switch to synthetic mica?

While synthetic mica alleviates the concerns of illegal mining and child labor, in that location are several reasons why many corrective brands keep using natural:

• Synthetic Mica is much more expensive than Natural Mica
• The visual issue is different: When you're starting a new production from scratch with synthetic mica, there is no problem. But when you're trying to switch out synthetic for natural in an existing product, information technology can take some time and experimentation to get it exact.

Currently, the merely industries using synthetic mica are the cosmetics sector and a very small portion of the pigment industry.

H ow to know if the mica in your products is natural or constructed

Natural mica will exist listed every bit: Mica, C1 77019, or Potassium Aluminum Silicate. Synthetic mica will be listed as either 'Synthetic Mica' or 'Constructed Fluorphlogopite'.

HOW CAN You lot KNOW IF THE MICA IN YOUR Beauty PRODUCTS IS ETHICALLY-SOURCED?

Ask questions – if a brand doesn't clearly state the origins of their mica, transport them a message and ask where they source this ingredient from. Let them know this is important to yous – put it on their radar.

When brands are urged by consumers to be transparent and accept these issues seriously, that is where change begins.

DOES Manufacture KNOW Well-nigh ILLEGAL + Kid LABOR MINING?

Definitely, you tin can encounter the illegal action when yous look at production numbers vs the actual amounts of mica traded. When the exported numbers are far more than the production values, the difference usually comes from illegal mines – and generally, that means child labor.

India for instance, officially produces 15,000 tonnes of mica a year, yet it exports 130,000 tonnes. This huge difference is explained by the fact that nigh of the mica mines in Bharat are illegal so their numbers are unreported.

IS PROGRESS Existence MADE TO Finish CHILD LABOR IN MICA MINING?

There has been some progress, particularly in recent years as this issue was brought into the public eye. In 2017, the Responsible Mica Initiative was established. This grouping has a goal to "eliminate child labor unacceptable working conditions in the mica supply chain within the adjacent five years".

Another organization working for alter is the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), or Salve the Childhood Movement. They piece of work to rescue, rehabilitate, and brainwash children that have been exploited or driveling. They rescue about 400 children from servitude every yr - 87,000 children since the 1980s. They also have created 'Child-Friendly Villages' where kids tin get an education and aren't expected to work.

While this progress is a step in the right direction, the upshot is still awe-inspiring and so much has to change for these children and communities.

Support this cause past:

• Voting with your dollars – buy from brands that are committed to only using ethical mica in their products.
• Message your other favorite brands to express your concern and urge them to expect into their supply chain and commit to upstanding sourcing.
• Sign petitions that are working for alter in the manufacture.

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Cheers for tuning into our blog beauties! If yous have whatever questions or comments please leave them below or ship us an e-mail to how-do-you-do@aetherbeautyco.com <3

- ĀTHR Beauty xo

Source: https://athrbeauty.com/blogs/goodvibesbeauty/the-truth-about-mica

Posted by: charleswitternew.blogspot.com

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