As beautiful as shiny cosmetics, there is a dark secret behind their production. The common ingredient in most shiny highlighters, eye shadows and lip glosses is mica, a natural flake mineral popular in India. However, before mica is processed and finally made into beauty products, it needs to be mined, and the people responsible for mining mica from the ground are often children.

For many years, India has been recognized as the world's largest producer and exporter of flake mica, with most of its mines located in Bihar and Jharkhand. These two regions are among the poorest in India. The incidence of poverty in Jharkhand is estimated to exceed 46%. In Bihar, this proportion varies from 46% to 70% depending on the region. As many families live on the brink of hunger, it is not uncommon for children to drop out of school and engage in child labor.  

Although mica mining poses a serious threat to the health and safety of children, families rely on it for income, and communities living near mica mines are trapped in an endless cycle of poverty, exploitation and abuse, struggling to survive every day. 

It is estimated that 22,000 children as young as 4 years old are working in mica mines in Jharkhand and Bihar. Due to the illegal and secret nature of child labor, the exact number is unknown. 

In order to extract mica, it is necessary to enter narrow tunnels and caves; children are more easily integrated into them than adults, which is the main reason why children use mica mining extensively. Of course, desperately taking advantage of any possible money is another key driver of the problem. Without the children’s contribution to the family’s wages, many people would not be able to meet their basic needs. 

Refinery29, a media company focused on women's issues, visited an illegal mica mine in India and talked with children working there. "If we don't mine mica, how do we put food on the table?" said an 11-year-old girl who works in the mine every day. 

Most children working in mica mines earn fifty rupees a day, which is equivalent to about seventy cents. On the other hand, wholesalers can make more than one thousand dollars per kilogram of high-quality mica. This illustrates the scale of mining and the terrible human rights violations that occurred in the mica mine. 

Illegal mining of mica will bring many dangers to the health and safety of children. Continuous exposure to dust can cause respiratory diseases, and digging in the soil with bare hands for several hours puts them at risk of skin infections and cuts. In addition, landmines often collapse, threatening the lives of children. 

The host of Refinery29 also interviewed the parents of a girl who died when a tunnel collapsed while mining mica. "I rushed to the mine and saw my daughter lying there. There was a big rock on her head and she was dead"-the heartbroken mother recalled. However, she added that because they had no choice, other members of the family, including their second daughter, continued to work in the mine after the heartbreaking incident. 

When the mine collapsed, the children would be trapped under the rock and could not get enough help in time when left unattended. Families have been living in fear of losing their children, and because mica mining is not supervised, they are not eligible for any compensation in the event of an accident. Working in illegal mines also makes children vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse or human trafficking. 

People living near mines are aware of the risks, but have no other livelihood options. It is better to work illegally than not to work. Nevertheless, growing up to mine mica instead of receiving education deprives children of a happy childhood and limits their future employment opportunities. 

Reuters reported that the Jharkhand government has always wanted to legalize the industry, but the process has been slow. If more regulations are introduced, mica mining will create more employment opportunities for villagers, give them higher wages, and reduce the need for children to participate. In turn, children will have the opportunity to enjoy a future that does not involve mining of mica. 

To help end the abuse cycle in mica mining, some beauty companies have been exploring the use of synthetic mica. At first glance, this seems to be a sustainable solution: Since synthetic mica is manufactured in a laboratory, child labor is not required. However, in reality, its supply chain is not always transparent, and there is no guarantee that alternative types of mica will be completely free of child labor. 

In addition, people may think that, as the end users who buy mica cosmetics, we are responsible for the phenomenon of child labor. Although this certainly makes sense, in India, the life of the entire community revolves around the extraction of mica. Therefore, abandoning these products altogether means depriving families of their only income-generating activities. 

Although mining this mineral is exploitative, it allows thousands of families to survive. Without mica, poverty and suffering in Bihar and Jharkhand will reach unimaginable levels. The moral dilemma is obvious, and finding a solution to the problem is extremely difficult. 

However, it is clear that children should not be forced to engage in dangerous labor and exploitation. Empowering children and their parents and providing them with professional training is essential to reduce their dependence on illegal mica mining. The same is true for improving living conditions in areas surrounding mines and raising awareness of the importance of education.  

We should not just boycott products containing mica, but should increase efforts to establish a clean supply chain, regulate mica mining and help rural communities in India find safe employment opportunities elsewhere. 

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