After the Guardian reported that the paint used by Vauxhall, BMW and Volkswagen was related to mines in India that rely on child labor and debt bondage, PPG and Axalta joined the plan

Last modified at 09.26 EDT, Thursday, October 15, 2020

PPG and Axalta, the two largest automotive coatings suppliers in the world, joined a global initiative after a Guardian investigation linked child labor in their supply chain with Vauxhall, Volkswagen and BMW To eliminate child labor in the mica industry.

Although consumers know very little about mica, mica is one of the most widely used minerals in the world. It is highly valued for its ability to reflect and refract light and is found in many different products and industries.

Approximately 25% of the world's mica is mined in the impoverished Indian states of Jharkhand and Bihar, and an estimated 20,000 children are illegally mined.

The cosmetics industry has been continuously criticized for its continued use of natural mica from Indian mines to produce cosmetics for global consumers.

In July last year, a report from The Guardian revealed the connection between child labor and major automotive paint suppliers, prompting auto brands such as Vauxhall, Volkswagen and BMW to investigate their supply chains.

PPG and Axalta have now joined the Responsible Mica Initiative, which has been supported by cosmetic multinational companies L'Oreal, Chanel, Estée Lauder, and major mica sourcing companies including Merck and China Fujian Kuncai. The initiative promises to eliminate child labor in mica production by 2022.

This plan marks the first comprehensive measure to solve the local child labor problem in mica mining since the industry became aware of the child labor problem in the mica mining industry more than 10 years ago. The goal is to implement fair and sustainable collection, processing and procurement practices throughout the mica supply chain, and improve traceability; expand current social empowerment programs in villages; and cooperate with Indian authorities to establish a legal framework for mica communities .

No car brand has joined the program yet. Vauxhall, Volkswagen and BMW told the Guardian that they refused to participate.

Following last year's report, all car companies launched internal investigations, which led to BMW and Volkswagen suspending some of their relationships with Indian suppliers.

In a statement, Vauxhall (part of the General Motors Group) declined to specify what actions it took, but said it is now satisfied that its suppliers have taken sufficient measures to address child labor.

“Based on GM’s review and ongoing compliance activities of the paint suppliers identified in the Guardian article, these suppliers appear to have deployed safeguards and are continuing to review and take measures to comply with GM’s zero tolerance for the use of children. Policy. Labor," the company said in a statement.

BMW said that it has stopped purchasing Indian mica until its suppliers can guarantee that there is no child labor in its supply chain.

Kai Zöbelein, BMW Group Sustainability Spokesperson, said: “The BMW Group welcomes this [unnamed] coating supplier and its secondary suppliers to join other companies under the Responsible Mica Initiative.”

According to new data from the Ministry of Mines (pdf), India officially produced about 12,500 tons of mica in 2014-15, and the export volume was more than ten times that of about 140,000 tons. Jharkhand officially did not produce mica at all in 2014-15, although hundreds of small illegal mines were mined there.

The Responsible Mica Initiative aims to eliminate child labor and unacceptable working conditions in the Indian mica supply chain. This may include the debt bondage prevalent in illegal mica mines, as the Guardian's investigation also found this.

Catherine Peyreaud, director of Natural Resource Stewardship Circle, a sustainable sourcing company and co-founder of the Responsible Mica Initiative. She said that the involvement of brands and suppliers is crucial.

"Brands cannot let their suppliers solve this problem alone. Making this supply chain sustainable is a shared responsibility," she said.

Aidan McQuade, the head of the Anti-Slavery International Organization, welcomed the initiative as a very positive step to eliminate child labor. He said: “In order to address the root causes and contributing factors of child labor, it must also be addressed. The debt bondage of adult workers in the industry. It is important to ensure that parents have decent working conditions and living wages to reduce the pressure on families to let their children work."