Ingredient Spotlight: Responsible Mica

Mica is so ubiquitous that you probably use it every day. It's found in electronics, construction, paints; in fact according to the Responsible Mica Initiative (more on them later), the average car can include up to 15,000 parts containing mica. And of course, it's found in our cosmetics, from eyeshadow to shampoos to toothpaste. But have you ever stopped to wonder where it comes from? 

Technically speaking, the term 'mica' refers to a group of 37 phyllosilicate minerals, which have unique properties that make them very useful for a wide variety of applications. In cosmetics, their main use is to provide sparkle and a smooth application. Other pigment powders are often fused to the mica to create a smooth, sparkly and brightly coloured product. Although synthetic mica created in a lab does exist, it isn't widely available, and 90% of the mica used around the globe is natural mica. Mica itself is an inert mineral and is considered very safe to use in cosmetics. It's widely available, and the kind of mica used in cosmetics is generally 'scrap mica', a byproduct of mica mining for the electronics industry. So what's the problem? 

Mica is mined all over the world, but the majority comes from a few key countries, namely India, Madagascar, China and Brazil. In 2015, Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO) and Terre des Hommes published a report that estimated up to 22,000 children were involved in mica mining in the Indian states of Jharkhand and Bihar alone. A follow-up report stated 'Sheet mining is a labour-intensive process, and is
predominantly carried out by the very poor and vulnerable in low-wage countries' and 'the work is arduous and dangerous.' The main problem is that the majority of mica mining takes place in areas of extreme poverty, where there is political instability, poor law enforcement and lack of services, such as education or healthcare. Parents have no choice but to send their children into dangerous mines in order to earn enough money to feed them, as they themselves are not paid enough to support a family. According to SOMO, most of the mica mines operating in India are illegal, which means they are not subject to any regulation. They also identified a high likelihood of illegal mica mines in Madagascar, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Overall, the countries they highlighted as 'red-flag' countries for exploitation were Madagascar, India, China, Brazil and Sri Lanka, in other words all the main sources of the world's mica. 

Mica may be a very safe substance once it's in a product, but breathing in large amounts of mica dust in a confined environment (such as a mine shaft) can cause serious lung problems. Illegal mines also have no health and safety regulations, meaning that deaths from collapsing tunnels are commonplace. The miners are also vulnerable to abuse and trafficking. There have been numerous other reports by human rights organisations and journalist exposés revealing the extreme suffering of workers in these mines, of which a few are linked below. 

So should we all stop using mica? Well, the answer is not that simple. Much as we may abhor the exploitation of these communities, the reason they continue to mine the mica in such conditions is because they have no other source of income. To boycott the industry entirely would simply mean the people starve to death instead. However, if we make a commitment to only purchase mica from legal, fully regulated mines that pay a fair wage, not only do we support vulnerable communities, but it also sends a clear message to illegal mine owners. The more people who purchase from suppliers who only deal with regulated mines, the more it drives trade away from illegal mines and thus puts them out of business unless they volunteer to become regulated as well. It can be a slow process of change, but it is agreed by humanitarian organisations across the world to be the most effective way of improving working conditions in situations of extreme poverty. 

In order to ensure that my makeup products meet the highest standards of ethical manufacture, I only use mica that is certified as fulfilling the ​EU REACH requirements and/or come directly from suppliers who are members of the Responsible Mica Initiative. This is a Coalition for Action which works holistically to eliminate child labour in Indian mica mines. Members must adopt 'workplace environment, health, safety and fair labor practices that include a prohibition on the use of child labor' across their entire supply chain. 

You'll find responsibly sourced mica in:
Multi-Purpose Powder
Luscious Lipstick
Organic Lip-gloss 
​Christmas Soap 

Resources: 
SOMO and Terre des Hommes report
Challenges of sourcing mica
​​
Further reading: 
https://www.fairplanet.org/story/child-labour-in-mica-mines-the-beauty-industrys-dark-secret/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/army-children-toil-african-mica-mines-n1082916 
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/nov/21/children-as-young-as-five-make-up-most-of-madagascars-mica-mining-workforce 
​​https://formulabotanica.com/podcast-responsible-mica-cosmetics/