Ugly truth behind global beauty industry

Top cosmetic brands rely on Indian children working in illegal mines to extract mica, key ingredient in makeup products.

Koderma, India - Children toiling illegally in Indian mines are producing a key ingredient used in the products of some of the global cosmetics industry's most prominent names.

A report by campaign group DanWatch said child labour is being used in the eastern states of Jharkhand and Bihar to extract mica, which is then added to the make-up produced by at least 12 multinational companies.

At least 5,000 children may be producing mica - used to add glitter to natural cosmetics - which is bought by intermediaries and then exported to high-profile international customers such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder.

"In our research we found illegal mica mining often involves child labour, which is a significant problem in India," Louise Voller of DanWatch told Al Jazeera.

"This report confirms that most companies do not give the consumers a clear picture of their supply chain." 

In our research we found illegal mica mining often involves child labour, which is a significant problem in India. This report confirms that most companies do not give the consumers a clear picture of their supply chain. - Louise Voller, DanWatch

Deadly work

The abandoned mica mines start shimmering under the rising sun in Koderma, Jharkhand, as a group of sleepy children trudges towards the Charki mine holding their tools.

Five-year-old Ajay Das hurriedly slips into a narrow hole and starts his day. His tiny hands can barely balance the hammer, but he still hits the glistening wall accurately.

Ajay works six days a week and after labouring for seven to eight hours each day in hazardous conditions,he manages to earn a paltry 20 rupees ($0.33) - barely enough to kill his hunger pangs.

"The mines were closed two decades ago. Since then, poor people from neighbouring areas have been involved in scrap mining," Ramlakhan Paswan, a schoolteacher working near the Charki mines, told Al Jazeera.

"This leads to mishaps every now and then. At times, children working with their parents often get trapped and die when the roof or the mine wall collapse."

Miner Karu Das, 25, lost his wife to an accident in Charki mine five-years ago.

"She had come to collect mica scraps but got trapped in the mine," Karu said. "By the time we dug her out she was dead."

But Karu continues to risk his own life - and the lives of his children - as they have no other source of income. "Legal or illegal, it guarantees two square meals a day."