Does Your Car Have Glittery Mica Paint

Perhaps the Mica was Mined by Children

The Guardian has recently brought to light the fact that children in India are working in situations of child labour and debt bondage to mine the mica. The mica is being used in paint for automobiles. Child rights campaigners estimate that up to 20,000 children work in hundreds of small-scale mines in northern Jharkhand and southern Bihar.

This has led some of the world’s biggest car makers including Vauxhall, BMW, Volkswagen and Audi launching investigations into their paint supply chains. The Guardian documented children aged 12 mining mica underground in hazardous, leaking mineshafts, hammering glittering rock flakes from walls and carrying heavy loads through slippery tunnels while above ground, girls as young as 10 were sorting mica from other mined material. These children are not able to go to school and are forced to work in conditions that are dangerous for their health. Read more…