As a make up artist, I've been aware of ethical behavior in terms of cruelty free, vegan cosmetics and the legal loopholes some brands take. We always hear about the leaping bunnies, animal testing and reasons to hate certain brands - however we rarely hear about the negative trends or unethical behaviors that don't involve animals.
While I am delighted that animal testing is banned and that there are so many cool vegan alternatives, there are more problems under the surface of cosmetics
I had no idea about this. I personally don't like mineral make up because of the lack of pigment in it. I find that its a bit too sparkly and there isn't enough color for me. However mineral make up is a big business. In fact, most companies have a range of mineral make up. I wonder if this is the reason that 10% of the world's mica resources are used in cosmetics.
In 2014, Lush became concerned about their use of mica when they were met with armed guards at their supplier's mine in India. They investigated and stopped using mica as an ingredient immediately. They have just discovered that their synthetic replacement for mica contained traces of the real thing which prompted them to examine their chain of supply.
I have great respect for Lush so I need to know, what is so bad about mica?
So the problem with mica is the mining process. Well, the child labor used within the mining process. Children as young as five are being used to mine the mineral used in car spray paints and make up. The children are risking serious injury, respiratory illness even death. The deaths are actually covered up and kept quiet because the families are offered payouts. The high percentage of poverty in the area means that they often have little choice but to accept it otherwise they risk bringing down a huge industry.
While it is illegal in India as a practice, it is still happening.
So what can you do?
Check your cosmetics. Ask questions. If you have an issue with an ingredient in terms of source - don't use it. Ask the company where it came from. Write letters and ask. Actually better yet, tweet them and ask. The more public and the more people asking, the better. But it is this simple - don't like it? Don't support it.
Can I read more?
Check out the wonderful Ecouterre who have some awesome articles on ethical fashion and beauty including this great article on mica mining. click here to read
Microbeads are tiny little beads of plastic. They can be found in most exfoliators that you can buy on the high street. This is what takes off your skin's dead cells. It has been discovered recently that these tiny little beads are being washed in our rivers, lakes and seas polluting the water beds there and messing up the sea life. In fact, the sea creatures often end up eating them as do birds.
The reason that companies use plastic compared to natural exfoliators has nothing to do with their improvement to the exfoliating process. It's because its cheaper so bigger profits. As they are more gentle on the skin, it means that people can use them more often which means they buy the products more frequently. There is call for a nationwide ban on microbeads in Europe and forthcoming bans on microbeads pending in the UK, America and Canada but what about Ireland?
So what can we do?
Check your products. If you don't mind paying a little bit more for a natural exfoliator (or make one yourself) then you can help to stop pollution. This use of a natural source means you use it less and you spend less in the long run as your not replacing it so fast! If your concerned that your company might have a high use of the beads then check out the website from Greenpeace. They have a graph showing the worse offenders and those that aren't so bad.
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