what is mica?
how do we get mica?
mica is found in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary regimes and mined by employees.
where is mica from?
mica can be found in many different locations around the world. the largest producer of mica in 2017 was finland, producing 65,000 tonnes of mica in 2017. turkey, the us, china, canada, france, south korea and madagascar were the following biggest producers of mica in 2017, in order. after these countries comes india, where 14,000 tonnes of mica was reported to have been produced in 2017.
however, this is where the issue lies, as the statistics for production of mica and the amount of mica exported in India do not add up. according to the indian bureau of mines, india legally produced 1,255 tonnes of mica in 2012 to 2013, yet the quantity exported was 127,629 tonnes. similarly, in 2015, india's official production of mica was recorded at 19,000 tonnes, but 140,000 tonnes were exported. this surplus in mica production has not been documented as it is mined illegally, and it is estimated that 70% of india's mica output is mined illegally. the regions of bihar, jharkhand, rajasthan and andhra pradesh are all mica producing areas which have been caught with mines using child labour. a lot of mica produced in india is supplied to makeup companies, with estee lauder admitting to supplying 10% of their mica from india.
when did mica become popular?
although the use of mica dates back to the prehistoric times in many areas across the globe, mica became popular after the rise of colonialism and globalised capitalism. before the nineteenth century, mica in europe was very rare and in short supply. after the colonisation of asia and africa by european powers, mica was discovered in these areas, and the supply subsequently rose. capitalism and colonialism brought this product into our everyday lives, in car paint, cosmetics and in many other ordinary products which we use. this makes the problem of mica very difficult to solve, as it is a key element to so many different businesses, and the cheap price of it makes it a desirable choice for businesses. additionally, as the mineral has so many different uses, we need to ensure that the supply of mica does not drop, as it would hurt the global economy and decrease the supply of so many different products.
what's wrong and why should we care?
the illegal production of mica is very dangerous and in many cases, illegal mines employ children. although indian law forbids for people under 18 year to work on mines, poverty pushes people to mine illegally to find an income and they are a cheaper form of labour for illegal mines than adults. the guardian has estimated there are 20,000 child labourers mining for mica in the indian states of bihar and jharkand alone. the relationship between child labour and poverty is clear, with 13 million out of a population of 33 million in jharkhand suffering form poverty, and 36% of people in bihar suffering from poverty.
additionally, there are high numbers of injuries casualties occurring in the mines, and infections and respiratory diseases are common amongst miners. in june 2016, 16 year old madan was killed alongside two adult workers in jharkland, whilst mining for mica, and an estimated 5-10 children die in mines each month. sarita devi, told wired that she was 12 when she started mining, and that her leg was injured from an accident in the mine, and is now "held together by a metal rod". devi went on to say that the mine closed in on her and she didn't have time to escape, though these incidents happen frequently and she normally escapes. devi also mentioned that her family earns less than 70p a day.
what's even worse than this is that supposedly fewer than 10% of deaths in mica mines are reported to police, because they are in illegal mines and people are given money to stay silent and not let out the secret of the illegal mines.
as consumers, there are traces of mica which has been produced illegally in the everyday products we use, with 10% of mica going to cosmetic industry. the extremely low wages, poor working conditions and danger of these mines is not something which we can be complicit towards.
what can we do?
since there has been raised awareness of the problems in illegal mica mining, some companies have started to take action. lush are looking for synthetic mica alternatives, and trying to remove illegal mica from their products. though this would help to close mines, it would leave the workers of the mines without employment and worse off economically, and would also probably take a long time for synthetic mica to be created that could replace the current global mica supply. similarly, aidan mcquaide, director of anti-slavery international, contested that boycotts of mica and similar products with issues in the supply line are not successful, as they harm the livelihoods of the workers.
estee lauder, l'oreal, yves rocher and others have been involved in creating "child-friendly villages" in support of the national resources stewardship council and bachpan bachao andolan. additionally, in 2017, the responsible mica initiative was launched, backed by the indian government and mica-using brands like chanel and l'oreal to remove child labour from mica mining. we can support campaigns like this, looking to change the supply of mica to a more ethical supply, but we need to ensure that the supply of mica does not decrease, and tackle the origin of the problems, poverty.
we need to support action against poverty, including the introduction of secure employment opportunities for areas with high levels of poverty. we also need to spread the awareness of illegal mica in the supply chain, support campaigns like the responsible mica initiative, and look for current alternatives to prevent the over-mining of this mineral.
sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mica
http://www.bizvibe.com/blog/mica-industry-india/
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jul/28/cosmetics-companies-mica-child-labour-beauty-industry-india-
https://www.statista.com/statistics/569630/mica-production-worldwide-by-country/
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/mica-illegal-mining-india
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/781181467989480762/Bihar-Poverty-growth-and-inequality
