The dirty business of beauty

DW紀錄片：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAIKvD_gLJo&t=1136s&ab_channel=DWDocumentary

最近學業繁忙，就匆忙作了個英文小結，如果以後有空會補上中文的。

Rose quartz products are all the rage in the beauty industry, where companies touted their products can help people recuperate from stressful life. But the journalist found that these beauty products made from gemstone and quartz, seems to be mined under questionable conditions.

To find out where the rose quartz comes from and how it is mined and shipped to German, DW journalist asked a retailer in the market and was told that wholesalers who have contacts in many countries would collect rose quartz from local miners at a low price. "Miners are often shepards, or bearers by profession. "

Miners are at the bottom of this supply chain. People are aware of their conditions, but most of them just feel they can't do anything about it. A trip to the origin of rose quartz, Madagascar, is necessary to dig out the truth. Kolly, who has been researched this topic for a long time, joined the trip. But a chaperone was sent by the Ministry of Communication to watch over them.

About 80% of the local people are living below the international poverty line. The only jobs are in agriculture and in mines. After a bumpy ride to the destination, the journalist interviewed the miners for their working conditions. Since the foreman was present, the workers seem reluctant to speak or give a forced positive answer. They saw many child labourers are working in the site.

They went back to Antsirabe to interview an exporter. Most of his customers are Indian and Chinese. The gemstones are shipped to these two countries for processing before the products are sold worldwide. Apparently, the businessmen in China have tight lips about the payment of workers in Madagascar.

They continued the research in Sainte-Mare-aux-Mines, a small town near Strasbourg, where one of Europe's largest annual fair for gemstone and minerals. The retailers in the fair got a range of merchandise from wholesalers. It's just hard to bypass the wholesalers to get the money directly to the miners, said one of them.

Norbert Barthle, state secretary in the German Ministry of Development who support the Supply Chain Act for the CDU party, despite fierce opposition from his rivals. He wanted to the entire supply chain to be covered by law, other than merely to the first supplier level.