We often get emails asking us about our Mica, we are so glad that consumers are becoming aware of the issues with Mica. After decades of being kept in the dark, the truth about mica and the corrupt practices involving child labour is now coming to light, thanks to the reports from NBC, Refinery29, The Guardian, and others.
What is Mica?
Mica is a naturally occurring mineral dust found in cosmetics used to add sparkle or a bright pop of colour. It also adheres other ingredients together in formulations. On your product labels, it is usually written as Mica, C1 77019, Potassium Aluminum Silicate, Glimmer, Kaliglimmer, or Muskovit. Makeup products like eye shadow, blush, lipstick, bronzer, concealers, and foundation contain mica.
The Main Problem with Mica
While the usage of mica in cosmetics has been found to have no health side effects, the main problem has more to do with sourcing mica, as it has been exposed to be a product of child labour and illegal mining.
According to Refinery29, roughly 70% of mica produced in India comes from illegal mines that are totally unregulated by the government. What’s worse is that around 22,000 children as young as five years old are risking their lives mining mica 12 hours a day. Sadly, a number of children have already lost their lives in accidents where mines have collapsed.
Image Credit: Terre des Hommes
This is why here at MG Naturals, we are committed to only using ethically sourced mica in our products. All of our mica is sourced from Malaysia from fair-trade approved, ethically mined and certified child-labour free mines.
Because there isn’t a lot of point to creating products that are kind to our skin if we are contributing to child labour & severely unkind practices in our supply chain. We are dedicated to being part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem, so you can enjoy beautiful makeup knowing you are helping to make the world a kinder place for everyone.
