Many of our beauty products don't just make our customers shine ...
... they also shimmer themselves.
The raw material mica – also called glimmer – is responsible for the elegant shimmer effect of nail polish & co. Unfortunately, this natural rock is often extracted from mines under difficult conditions. A large proportion of the mica we use comes from India. In the past, there have been negative human rights implications for the workers and their families. Unfortunately, there have even been cases of child labor. We do not want to accept this.
100% transparency thanks to supply chain mapping
That's why we strictly monitor our mica supply chain with the aim of achieving 100% supply chain transparency by 2023. Currently, we have already reached 99% (2020). All stages are traced back to the mine and are checked. We exclusively work with suppliers that meet our high standards of transparency.
Achieving more together: Responsible Mica Initiative
And because we are stronger together, we have joined forces with other mica-processing companies and NGOs to establish the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI). Our aim is to create a responsible and sustainable Indian mica supply chain, in which child labor and unacceptable working conditions have no place.
In concrete terms this means:
- Creating a safe working environment for all workers – without child labor.
- Empowering village communities in the mining regions to improve the quality of life through higher wages, better education, nutrition and health care.
- Advocating laws that regulate the mica sector and enable its sustainability.
The work of the RMI is already making a difference:
- RMI has introduced social, health, safety and environmental standards in the workplace and has started to implement them.
- Community empowerment programs take place in 80 villages and reach over 5,000 households.
Our projects in India
Together with Andheri Hilfe, cosnova started a project in 2016 for the integral development and strengthening of village communities that make a living from mica mining in the Indian district of Koderma. After a thorough evaluation and pilot phase, our project has now reached five villages and is dedicated to:
- the operation of nursery schools
- the support of families in accessing state support programs
- maintaining contact with local government officials
- the empowerment of families to lead a better life.
Our dedicated and trustworthy project partner Andheri Hilfe and its local project partners in India ensure the project implementation, the progress of the project and the continuous reporting.
