scorecardresearch
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaRihanna Fenty Beauty brand under lens in India for 'using mica from...

Rihanna Fenty Beauty brand under lens in India for ‘using mica from mines hiring child labour’

NGO Legal Rights Observatory has filed a complaint with the national child rights protection body, alleging Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty brand uses 'blood mica’ from Jharkhand mines.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: International pop star Rihanna, who created a stir in India by tweeting in support of the protesting farmers, is now under the scanner of the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for allegedly using mica from Indian mines — where “child labourers work in dire conditions” — in her cosmetics brand ‘Fenty Beauty’.

NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanoongo told The Print they are looking into the matter and “would do the needful”.

This comes after the NCPCR received a complaint Friday from NGO Legal Rights Observatory (LRO). 

The complaint, a copy of which is with ThePrint, said, “As per reports, US pop star Rihanna’s beauty product ‘Fenty Beauty’ uses blood mica from Jharkhand in which child labourers work in dire conditions.”

“To ascertain that the mica is free of child labour, there are certificate agencies. But media reports say that Fenty Beauty don’t have supply chain clearance certification (SCCC) from either of the two.”

Demanding an investigation into the matter, the LRO said, “With this letter, we would like to request you to investigate whether Fenty Beauty is using uncertified mica and if true then please start appropriate penal action against the company and its owners.”

Kanoongo said the NCPCR has sought response and clarification from the industry body, Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI). 

“We have received a response on email from RMI that the supply chain that provides mica to Fenty Beauty is not registered with them,” he said.

Asked whether Rihanna has been served a notice, the NCPCR chairman said, “We haven’t sent any notices yet. We are looking into the matter. We are committed to do whatever is required for protection of child rights. So far, we have received this written response from RMI on our query.”

ThePrint reached the PR agency for Fenty Beauty via email for a comment. This report will be updated when they respond.


Also read: After Rihanna, Greta Thunberg supports farm protests, Kangana calls farmers ‘terrorists’


What is RMI?

The RMI is a global coalition for action to enable responsible and sustainable mica supply chain in India that is free of child labour. 

One of the key activities that it carries out is ‘Mica Supply Chain Mapping and Workplace Standards for Mica Collection and Processing’ for its members.

According to RMI’s official website, “Members must map the source of mica in their products to exporters, processors and mines in India.”

“Each member’s supply chain participant must then adopt workplace environment, health, safety and fair labour practices that include a prohibition on the use of child labour.”

According to RMI, India is the world’s largest source of mica, a mineral that is used in a wide range of industries. It is mined extensively in eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand where a variety of factors contribute to poor working conditions, including the use of child labour.

(The writer is research director with Delhi-based think tank Vichar Vinimay Kendra. He has authored two books on the RSS.)


Also read: Sikh separatism fighting existential battle but mishandling farmer protest can add fuel


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

43 COMMENTS

  1. Celebrity culture is a Disease… it feeds on brain cells… just look at these rihanna worshippers … Blood Mica is a topic covered in various documentaries for years. NGOs have been fighting the good fight against child labour not just in india but globally.

    First you attack the government, then you attack the credibility of these claims, then somehow feminism gets thrown around. All just because ur fav attention hungry, nword throwing hedonist narcissist heroine has been called out for her hypocritical crap!

    Did you pay any attention to how these Modern Day Slave owners are discovered? NGOs ko sapna nahee aa raaha fenty aur shenty company ka. Once u screw with the democratic process of a country… it is common sense that people will test your credibility n eye you out with a microscope. Because her company has no documentation for legally sourced mica, its a no brainer where her company is sourcing this mineral.

    And blaming the country is easy, if you have guts… go to a black person n tell them how the black market blood diamond industry of Africa is Africa’s own fault cuz they are so poor they cant take care of their kids… I dare you to say this… it will help you understand your own hypocrisy n ignorance.

    The only way a country can imancipate itself from poverty is through Healthy Capitalism… the same capitalism which is being disruppted by this Farmers Protest Movement. Ask these Developed countries how they conduct their agriculture n u will see the same 3 laws in their bills. I know because i live in canada and shop at walmart and superstore. These countries benifit from the same modern agricultiral approach that you guys wont accept. You would rather see the farmers continue to commit suicides as they have for decades n help spread meaningless propoganda n hashtag activism… cuz its just so Cool n Dope!

    Nobody giving a rats behind about the environment, civil rights n poor children… Rihanna mata par koi kichhad naa uchhaal de… Hip hoppers you disgust me ! Shame on you!

  2. You could have lived in china only as long as you were not cut to pieces to be eaten. ED / IT raid is a wishful thinking of the worthless.

  3. Wow, really some idiot payed rihanna 2.5 millon dollars to write a tweet idots why didnt they use the money to support the child labourers im sure,it would go a long way in india. Also rihanna shut the f@#k up how many times do i need to tell you , you are a pop star stick to that and being a underwear model and your life will be trouble free .

    • Indians themselves (and their governments) are not able to prevent their poor children from working in mica mining for so many decades. Because in our country Indians themselves don’t generally care enough about the poor and the downtrodden. Most of these children in backward states belong to lower castes and tribals.

      Even if I take it as a possibility that Rihanna got “paid” to tweet, so you think Rihanna paying up will eliminate child labour in mica mining? Foolish!

  4. Everone saw her bared in the dirty heap of TOOL KIT. No wonder she wants to use her ugly body parts as TOOL KIT to corrupt everybody by promoting FENTY UGLY PRODUCTS

    • “ugly body parts” — so according you to you Rihanna is ugly. This is about farmer’s protests – so why comment on her looks or body parts? Being a Hindu myself, I thought Hinduism taught to respect the divine in another person no matter what. As a proper Hindu, you can surely post a civil comment arguing your point. Or are women not deserving of this respect? If literate and misled Hindu males in India like you can comment like this, it’s much more worse for India’s “image” rather than Rihanna’s tweets. It is only sad that such views are probably a reason for the continuing low status of women in Indian society and also the high number of rape incidents reported in India.

  5. People are filled with so much filth against the government that they’d rather support child labor and call their own government fascist. Grow up rioters.

  6. For god’s sake stop dragging Rihanna into this. At least she raised a voice for these poor farmers. Ha ha the audacity of the fucking people to talk about India’s sovereignty.. they’re just diverting the attention of the people. The country’s literally going into ruins with such people as leaders and influence. Going into flames#hellindia

  7. Wow, suddenly some empathy for child labourers (child abuse by Indians on indian soil) because of one tweet from Rihanna !
    This is a joke.
    This country is becoming an authoritarian, fascist regime where farmers are welcomed with barricades and barb wires instead of opening a dialogue like any decent democratic republic would.

  8. If this is actually happening, were these people waiting for Rihanna’s tweet to wake up? Stop making fool of yourself.

  9. This is more an indictment on Indian than on Rihanna. Why are you enslaving your children. Shame on you. Do the right thing and treat your citizens fairly. India is their home, they should be able to live comfortably in their home country

    • Ram Rajya or Atmanirbhar slogans will give nothing for the poorest and the tribals in backward districts of India.

      Does the Rural Employment Guarantee scheme even reach such sections of society? Or is it siphoned off by workers belonging to political parties in these areas?

  10. India is slowly waking up to the multi-million dollar arm-twisting industry thriving in the world whereby singers/actors /activists /celebrities are on the lookout for issues that will help them make a quick buck. Words rhyming with Biryani, Maharani make these celebrities drool profusely and then they come to pitch in their tents along with their PR agents in that country even if they do not know where it is situated on the world map. Predators searching for easy preys !

    • Who the hell did puja for Trump as their God? Is he Indian??? That was not a problem. Problem is if someone leave a comment or express on humanitarian ground. Who sold those raw materials to the cosmetic product company those are responsible for exploiting child labour. This is another long standing humanitarian crisis in india.

    • Then why did our government intefere in the following cases:
      1.USA Elections.our government supported Donald trump through namaste trump event while it is consuder ed to be an internal affair
      2.the government recently tweeted on the coup done in Myanmar which is also an internal matter.
      In Modi ji s word;hippocrysi ki Bhi Seema Hoti hey

    • Chullu bhar Pani me doob marane wali bat hai Indian government ke liye, while having information about child labour working in jharkhand what they are doing for them. Why they are not stopping them this is full government failure.

      • It is NGO’s and child welfare activists that highlighted the child labour exploitation in Jharkhand years ago. Even foreigners highlighted it. What has the government and mainstream media done for these children? Mainstream media only covers politics , sports and entertainment for urban educated masses.

        The parents there do not have money to feed their children and send them to school. This is more or less the truth about most backward and tribal areas. India cannot even take care of it’s poor children. You bet local politicians are involved with the local mining mafia. And our Government and ministers are busy on Twitter trying to protect India’s “image”. Instead of working for the poorest they like to work for themselves and their political parties, just to retain their power and the taxpayer paid facilities that come along with it.

  11. In India, Indians themselves exploit child labour and export mica to foreign companies.
    Governments (state and centre both) itself have been unable to prevent the exploitation and it took a tweet to wake them up and send a notice to the foreign company?

  12. So because Rihanna sent out a tweet they didn’t like, she’s now being investigated? Sounds pretty sketchy to me.. Leave Rihanna alone!

    • World does not need self-righteous exploiters. If Rihanna wants to be activist she has to check her own business practices. Otherwise her lecturing is like women from house of ill-fame lecturing housewives about fidelity

  13. I think the Indians have it in for Rhianna now they trying to sabotage her business just because she tweets about farmers protest it’s dangerous to speak the truth with cultures which treat woman like animals and slaves

  14. I read some comments talking about retribution by government for twitting in support of the anti farm law protests by the so called farmers. Do you guys even bother to read anything carefully? The Print itself has published the following,”According to sources, it was Skyrocket that allegedly paid $2.5 million to popstar Rihanna to tweet in support of the farmers’ protest in India. Dhaliwal, the sources said, is a Canada-based Sikh who is a “self-proclaimed Sikh separatist” and is also close to Jagmeet Singh.”

    The so called liberals here defending an ignorant pop star, who tweets for money, pretending to care about farmers in India. Nice try. However, the problem is that you and your ilks are badly exposed now.

    Btw, have you read the farm laws? If so, then tell me what are the problems with these laws?

    • Wow, you’re really a sheep to believe in baseless propaganda. Some one as wealthy as Rihanna would need more than a few millions to even consider a bride. She is just a human being who listens to new the way you do and made a comment. Just so happens that she has a large platform.
      The entire world knows there are unique rampant problems in India. No need to cover it up. Just work towards fixing it and stop blaming others for seeing it.

    • So if my source says you are unintelligent, shall I spread the news for others to call it a fact? How can you confirm things in the news to be fact? The real and only truth is that you have been swallowing whatever Modi shoves down your throat. But that’s not all. All Indians who criticize the protest are just like you; uneducated individuals part of a self reverberating collective of false ideals and poor judgement.

  15. Well shame on indian government for letting child labour in mines, Instead of placing your focus on everyone who potentially questions your integrity, you can actually work on bringing some positive change for the society.

  16. I read some comments about alleged retribution by the government for twitting in favour of the anti farm law protests. I’m sure they have ignored the reports published on this same portal ‘The Print’ which stated,”According to sources, it was Skyrocket that allegedly paid $2.5 million to popstar Rihanna to tweet in support of the farmers’ protest in India. Dhaliwal, the sources said, is a Canada-based Sikh who is a “self-proclaimed Sikh separatist” and is also close to Jagmeet Singh.”

    It’s quite convenient to ignore these facts isn’t it? Talk about freedom of speech and human rights, paid by anti-India forces supported by the so international celebrities defended by pseudo liberals commenting on this article against Modi and BJP. Nice try!

    The problem is folks like you are badly exposed. Have you read the farm laws and tell me what are the problems with these bills? Anyone?

    • “ACCORDING TO SOURCES”
      And thus mythogical story begins.
      Wow.

      India is using its child as labour and exports MICA to foreign to earm money in dollars.
      1. Farm laws dont guarantee MSP. That is MAIN problem

      REVERT AWAITED

    • You’re using the word “allegedly” a lot in your posts. In legal parlance it means “without proof”.

      Considering how polarising issue the protest is, how do we know these “alleged” claims have not been fabricated?

      Take for example the child labour issue, why is that coming up NOW but not before? What a coincidence! Since when did India genuinely care about child labour? With such high poverty levels child labour is inevitable.

  17. Ridiculous. First, if there is employment of children in mica mining, the concerned authorities in India should he held accountable. Admitting that such practice exists is no credit to India, so the author is cutting the nose (India) to spite the face (Rihanna). The author is an RSS functionary. If The Print hosts such articles without mentioning the background of the author, and without its own independent investigation into the allegation, it is acting to facilitate propaganda and The Print loses its credibility.

    • Indians are ready to donate to temples , but you hardly hear about Indians eager in donations for saving poor children in rural and remote areas. Foreigners and foreign media know more about the plight of poor children in those areas rather than our governments and media.

  18. Really? It takes a pop star and an 18 year old activist to stir a nation? Is India is a Twitter nation now? This is so pathetic. Nobody is talking about the issue, same old tactics of distraction. And celebs make it easier because we are a nation of hero worshipers.

    • Attacking Rihanna or Greta is easy. All it takes is hire some trolls and do more tweets.

      Improving the conditions of child labour in India cannot be done through a tweet. It takes commitment and hard work by governments to lift children out of poverty and secure their future.

  19. Untill few days back, no one know who the heck is rihana. Now, after her tweet, suddenly, few of the organisations opened their searches on how to defame her. Media itself is in crisis.

  20. For a moment after reading this article, it felt that I lived in China. Previously everyone opposed to BJP in India had ED and IT raids. Now even tweets against BJP from somewhere across the world too attract retribution.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular