The dirty business of beauty | DW Documentary

For a long time they were just stones. But those days are gone. You can use a Gua Sha stone not only as an anti-aging tool, but also to do something good for your skin and relax your facial muscles. Some are supposed to help against wrinkles; others, they say, are for happiness. ...many different crystals... ...and spirituality. I really believe in it... Minerals and crystals have become big

business

. But looking behind the scenes is difficult. We hope you understand, but we do not comment on our suppliers. We want to understand what is behind this trend and where these stones come from.

Not well. It shouldn't be right. Who pays and at what price? We headed to Hannover to learn more about this trend that is becoming so popular on social networks. Personally I love crystals. I feel that they contain a very, very, very beautiful energy. Influencers show how to use facial rollers and Gua Sha stones. ...and then to the side. Go over the under eye area and get the lymphatic fluid moving. ...from eyelid to ear... ...seven times per side... ...and then you won't need anti-aging creams anymore. And even the stars talk about these stones. Hello Vogue. I'm Claudia Schiffer. -I'm Bill. -It's Kendall.

I'm Badmomzjay. ...and today I'm going to show you what's in my bag. And reveal your favorites in stylized clips. Many different crystals. This one is heart-shaped. This is rose quartz. Energy for love and self-love. It seems like I'm not the type to like it, but I have this. Will we also find this trend here at the Hannover glass fair? Stones as far as the eye can see. And a lot of rose quartz. What brought you here today? I came with my wife. She is interested in minerals and crystals for their various spiritual effects. She wears them while meditating.

Normally only classic stone collectors are found here. But there are also new fans. When you were a child, you collected them as a hobby. But I think, especially in our generation, we are rediscovering the effects that all these stones have on you. Right, and especially in our generation, there's a lot of talk on social media about crystals and what they can do. I think that's why there's this renewed interest. What type of crystals do you have at home? I have stones and jewelry. Stones that go on desks and yes, also jewelry. Do you also have facial rollers or Gua Sha?

Yes, rose quartz. Exactly, rose quartz. How did you become aware of these crystals? Where did you learn about them? Social media. They are trending right now, especially on TikTok. These new guests even have names here. We call them our TikTok girls. They are between 12, 17 or 18 years old. Some come after school, others even before. And they are very interested in buying. They like classics such as rose quartz, amethyst or the famous gypsum selenite. In fact, those favorites suddenly sold out last year between March and June, including green aventurine. We were bewildered. If you have time, could you show it to me on TikTok?

Of course... There are also people who talk about their benefits and the best way to use them. Do you know rose quartz? Rose quartz is the stone of everything that has to do with love. In publications that make big promises, these crystals are touted as esoteric wonders. Gemstones with healing properties are all the rage right now. This is rose quartz. It is a truly wonderful crystal. It is calming and is a kind of protective crystal. It helps us develop compassion and can also help open our heart chakra. I really believe in it. Because for me there is no reason not to believe in it.

Many of the people we spoke to here in Hannover also believe in the supposed powers of crystals. The demand for these stones is growing. But where exactly do they come from? One place in particular appears on many tags: Madagascar. Many retailers don't want to talk about their suppliers on camera. But we found one that does. Where do you get your stones? Do you go to the countries directly or how does it work? No, I have good wholesalers in Germany who have contacts in those countries. For example, this rose quartz is high quality rose quartz from Madagascar, carved in Madagascar.

But you should know that the conditions there are very, very bad. The people are porters or shepherds by profession. There is no educational system like ours. People have to start carrying stones at 14 years old. That's your job. Would you say then that it is a kind of support for development? It is support within the framework of what is possible in your culture. If the country develops, the social system will also develop. But little support typically reaches countries in the global south. Rather, they serve primarily as cheap suppliers of raw materials. Miners often work in dangerous conditions, something that has been a problem for a long time.

A landslide in a mining region in northern Myanmar has killed more than 90 people, according to authorities. Many more are still missing. The jade industry is lucrative, but almost nothing reaches the people who live here. Hot, dusty gold mines in Asia, considered one of the worst places in the world to work. Only children can fit in the narrow drafts. It is hunger that drives most families here, forcing them to risk their lives every day in the illegal mines. We can't find much about the rose quartz mines in Madagascar, except for an article in the British newspaper The Guardian about the mining.

According to this, mining conditions are devastating. We dug deeper and discovered that based on export volumes, Madagascar is one of the top three precious and semi-precious stone exporting nations in the world. The country sells quantities almost as large as export giant Brazil. How is it possible for a relatively small country to export so much? And do stones from Madagascar also reach Germany? To find out, we asked large German companies from which countries they source their rose quartz products and who their suppliers are. Thank you for your email. We hope you understand, but we do not comment on our suppliers.

Excellent. Other companies did not respond at all. I hate these direct lines. Yeah...so our messages to companies didn't really bear fruit. Everyone was tight-lipped or didn't respond at all. We decided to take a look at the situation directly in Madagascar. But that's not so easy. The Embassy does not issue visas for filming without prior approval from the relevant authorities in Madagascar. And then here's a long list of required documents... ...which took a while. I'm really stressed because we fly out on Saturday morning. Today is Thursday and we still don't have a visa and for that we need a shooting permit.

We're told it'll be on its way for three days, but it's not here yet. In the end, everything worked out... ...just in time. Madagascar is the largest island in the Indian Ocean. The country is almost as large as France, its former colonial power. We landed in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Our colleague Holly picked us up at the airport. She has been researching this topic for a long time and she knows a lot about mining in Madagascar. Her plan was for her to accompany us throughout the trip. But she wasn't the only one. The first morning, Madagascar welcomed us with a companion who works for the Ministry of Communications.

Olivia had to accompany us from now on. This was a condition for us to be allowed to film. Holly was also there that morning and helped us with the interpretation. She asked me if it is normal for film crews to have to bring someone from the ministry with them. It's very normal... very normal to do that. It protects them, it protects each of us and our jobs. Yes, we are her companions. But we are not just that. We are also facilitators, especially of these teams, since we are agents of the State. We make things possible, we help speed up processes, for example, when going somewhere.

What a strange situation. We just met the woman who will accompany us throughout the trip. We have to see what is the smartest move now. We've come up with some plans to lose her, because we clearly can't have her with us when things get a little hairy. No one in the mines will talk freely to us if there is someone from the ministry at our side. We had initially planned to go directly to a mining area. But we decided it's best to take Olivia somewhere more harmless first, in hopes of finding a way to leave without her.

We begin with a harmless tour of the capital. We needed two cars, because our entire team, driver, interpreters and Olivia, accompanied us. It quickly became apparent that things are very different when you are in such a large group. It makes it much more difficult to have normal conversations with people on the ground. I have to say, I'd rather it be just two of us walking the streets. The ministry woman is also wearing a bright blue vest, with the word "media" on the back. So everyone knows, okay, they're here... she actually says "media oversight"... It's just... very obvious.

This is not covert. We returned to the hotel to meet with someone who works for Transparency International Madagascar. Valéry oversees everything related to mining at Transparency International. He tells us that the situation of the miners is an extremely urgent problem. The number of miners increases every year. So we have up to 500,000 people working in the mining sectors. But we don't know, we don't have all the details about their numbers or their identity. So that's also one of the problems. We don't know who they are. They are simply flocking from here to here and moving from one place to another.

Valery told us that currently most mining in Madagascar is done without a permit, also because the government froze new permits in 2011. Therefore, around 80 percent of the mines are improvised or "artisanal", with bodies humans instead of machines pulling the mines. crystals out of the ground. We wanted to go see these mines. But he worried that our state agent chaperone might cause problems for the workers. Especially since, immediately after our interview, he went to question Valéry and took notes. It's a very strange situation. I reached out to find out what he's doing. She asks him what he told us she.

The truth is that I'm a little stressed because I told him that we want to go to the mines. Fortunately, Olivia doesn't find out about those plans. To be safe, instead of going to the mines, we headed to the coastal town of Toamasina. The city is the most important commercial port in Madagascar. We want to know what routes rose quartz follows: from the mines to the port and from here to the whole world. We need three permits to be able to film in the port. We had submitted the applications before our trip. But the port director does not accept the verbal agreement of customs.

Then we have to leave the premises. Instead of being able to watch rose quartz being loaded onto ships and interview workers and exporters, we find ourselves outside the port facilities again. I'm a little upset because now we can't go to the port even though we were initially told we had all these 20,000 permits needed. Olivia, our supervisor at the Ministry of Communications, was also unable to help us, contrary to what she had said. And that was not all. Then it turned out that this woman tested positive for Covid, which made the ridiculous situation even more absurd, because she started coughing two or three days ago.

Fortunately, we were still testing negative. We continue our trip, heading to Antsirabé. Olivia had to go into quarantine. Which means we were able to go to the rose quartz mines without it. Our base was in Antsirabé, the largest city in the region. Travel times in Madagascar are usually long, so we left early in the morning. It's around five in the morning and I'm still very tired. Now let's go to the mines. It's a three-hour trip plus a walk. Let's see what awaits us. In any case, things are tense. According to the World Bank, about 80 percent of Madagascar's population lives below the international poverty line.

Rural areas in particular are poor. Practically the only jobs here are in agriculture or in the mines. To get to one of these mines we must leave the paved road. We have just arrived at a mine that we know is run by a family. But we can't go to the mine itself. Is closed. There was an accident and one person was seriously injured. Our search continues. Our interpreter helps us ask questions while we search for a mine that is still in operation. We just received the location of a mine and we are on our way. It seems like I'm on safari.

And it's great. You're wearing a Jack Wolfskin backpack! How typical. My grandmother gave it to me. We're not sure how people will react to us. We're almost there, only ten more minutes left on foot. But first we are going to turn off the camera because first we want and must meet people without it. But they are already waiting for us. The people here don't mind us visiting and we can continue filming. Rose quartz deposits exist in several places in Madagascar. Here, it's lowjust a thin layer of dirt. Freshly mined, stones can be extremely sharp. This is one of the reasons why working in mines is considered one of the worst forms of child labor and why Madagascar's labor laws prohibit anyone under 18 from working in mines.

These two guys seem to know it. They stop when they see us filming. But then they go back to work, carrying the heavy stones. One of them, Naina, is even willing to talk to us. She is 15 years old. My parents also work here. I am the oldest and have three younger brothers. They are there. My parents brought me here because we don't have enough money. We asked Naina what she would like to change, if possible. I would like to go back to school. In Madagascar, only 63 percent of children finish primary school. According to Unicef ​​​​in 2018, a fifth of young people between 15 and 24 years old did not know how to read or write.

What would I like to become? A doctor. Not all children in Naina village go to school. We don't know how many there are. Parents often cannot pay school fees, so they take their children to work. Another worker agrees to be interviewed. My name is Sisia. I am 20 years. I feel tired from work. We talked to him about the two younger guys who work here. It is absolutely prohibited. But since families do not earn enough, children have to help their parents. Not well. It shouldn't be right. Sisia experienced a similar fate. When I was 16, I left school to help my parents.

Because life was unaffordable. I would have preferred to go to school, but life is not like that. Life became more difficult, so I had to support my parents. We brought a rose quartz facial roller from Germany. Have you ever seen anything like this? This is quartz. This is what it looks like when it has been polished by machines. This is our product after being extracted here. Here we just dig it up and then people abroad do something like this. Is it gold that surrounds it? That's metal. Metal? And what is it for? Decor? It's amazing. It's like a facial roller and you have to go like this...

Sisia and the other workers seem amused. But the mood changes when we talk about the prices at which these products are sold in Europe. Sometimes they sell them for around 40 euros. Did you find out that? I'm quite surprised that it's so expensive. To me that means the price here should also increase. The larger the pieces that the men extract, the better. They are paid 400 ariary per kilo, which is equivalent to about 10 cents. The price of two cigarettes in the town here. Many of the workers live in the town with their families. According to estimates, almost half of Malagasy children between five and seventeen years old have to work.

We meet Tovo, from the mine. He used to work in a gold mine. Now it's rose quartz. He shows us his house, where he lives with his wife and his one-year-old daughter. This is our house. This is the bedroom. This is where we cook and store things. When I started working, I started losing weight because I had to support my family. My energy level dropped. I could see that it wasn't enough because I was also supporting my family. And how is the rose quartz mine now? It's hard. It's difficult because when there is no money, no income, we still have to live and this is the only thing we have.

That's why we have to work even if it's difficult. Can you imagine your son working in the mines? I wish they didn't have to go there. But because of this poverty they will have to work there. They will have to go there if there is no other job because with our jobs, we really can't afford to send them to school. We learned that children here usually start working in the mines when they are 16 years old, although some are as young as 13 years old. Even before that, they help their parents in the fields. Back in the car, we felt strange.

It hasn't seemed right to us, white journalists in Europe, to examine people's lives here. But we also believe that it is important to report on something that few people know about. We head to another mine. But along the way a problem arises. Although Olivia is back in the capital with Covid, the Ministry of Communications does not give up. They have continued calling. Then we came up with an excuse. Now I am writing to the lady from the Ministry of Communications to tell her that we are leaving on Sunday because we had many problems at the beginning of the trip, and our editors are not giving us more money, and that we have to return to Germany.

So we're telling a big lie and let's hope she believes it. Luckily for us, there is no cell phone signal in the mines. Showing us the way there is Jimmy. Because even though we no longer have the Ministry with us, we always go announced or accompanied by someone. This time it's Jimmy. Jimmy is kind of a foreman at the mine. The owner hired him to supervise the work here and now us too. He hardly leaves our side. This mine is very remote. And we visited the deepest part on our trip. According to an investigation by The Guardian, younger children are often used to dig new mines.

We had heard rumors that that happened here too, but we can't confirm it. All the workers here say they are over eighteen years old. My name is Andrianasandratra and I am 21 years old. I started mining when I was 17 years old. A few months ago this mine collapsed. Workers had to dig the hole again. No, no one was hurt. It collapsed when no one was working. It collapsed when we weren't working. We ask if the work is dangerous. Yes, if you're not careful it is. We asked him if he ever saw anyone hurt. Yes, I do. I was in the tunnel and the rocks collapsed.

Died? Mmmmm. Jimmy, the foreman, says it's rare for workers to get hurt. But that doesn't seem to be the case for us. Almost all the people we have seen in the mines have cuts on their arms and legs. It's a bit heavy. When we ask what workers think about working conditions, their response sounds a bit forced. We are always careful. We recognize when it is dangerous. So we don't go down. Aren't you worried? Well, we are worried. But that's how we make money. So we have to do it. Another worker tells us that the work they do is not for people, but for machines.

They would like to use the machines themselves. But for that they would need a permit from the state. And those are too expensive and stopped being issued years ago. We ask them how heavy the stones they have to carry are. They can weigh up to 160 kilos. Sometimes 120 or 110. We have seen how hard people, including minors, have to work in the mines to help feed their families. Without protective clothing, without fixed working hours and sometimes for the paltry sum of only 10 cents per kilo. The longer we are here, the more absurd the commotion around stones in Germany seems to us.

We are back in Antsirabé, where many exporters are located who ship rose quartz all over the world. We have an appointment with Fidy, who sells stones from the last mine we visited. We export and collect, so when we have order we can buy many stones, varieties of stones. She shows us her deposit. The stones weigh around 27 tons. 27, for a container? For a container. This is for India. An order from India. We will load it on Saturday. Fidy has specialized in rose quartz since 2010. She shows us the containers she sends every month. This container is full. Like these 27 shades inside. -And we put this after... -Ah, the seal.

And this is also China? Uh no. This for India. Who buys you more stones? Chinese and Indians. Until now I don't have clients from Europe, from the USA, from America. They are always Chinese and Indian men. He says that with rose quartz it is easy to get large quantities quickly. It takes his miners about a month to fill a container. We wonder how demand has evolved. In 2015 no one wanted to buy rose quartz. One year. But now the demand has increased. We don't know what will happen next year. Maybe it will go down because we depend on China's markets.

In the big city. Stones rarely go directly to Europe. Instead, they usually go to China or India, where they are processed. Do you think that the companies that sell these products, these stones processed in Germany, know... can they know where the stones are from? I'm sure they don't know. Because I think German merchants buy wholesale from China. If asked, Chinese sellers would probably not say that the stones are from Madagascar, because they would be afraid that big customers from Germany would come directly here. So I guess they don't know... I'm sure they don't know. Our investigation in Madagascar had come to an end.

We learned a lot about the mines and working conditions and how important China is as a trading partner. Time and time again we were told about the many Chinese buyers. We were unable to speak to anyone in Madagascar, but official figures confirm what we were told. About half of Madagascar's precious and semi-precious stones are exported to China. Germany ranks fourth among export destinations with a much smaller trade volume. Back in Hamburg we decided to try a different approach to contacting Chinese suppliers. Instead of identifying ourselves as journalists, we created a fake startup, Soa Organics, and pretended to sell rose quartz products.

Our colleague Max created a website to make our story more compelling. Why do you need a fake website? Well, because we know that there are traders here in Germany and that it is extracted in countries like Madagascar. But we still lack this intermediate step: processing in China. So it is to them that we want to write. Under the guise of our fake company, we visit a Chinese trading platform and look for companies that can supply us with 10,000 rose quartz facial rollers. Seconds later, our inbox explodes. We took the opportunity to ask questions, including about working conditions in the mines.

Meanwhile, we also sent emails to some Chinese suppliers. Regarding information about working conditions. We know you are concerned about whether rose quartz is mined legally and whether it involves child labor. But we haven't heard anything about it. However, we have a video of the mining. I hope that helps. Not really, because the video doesn't even show the work in the mines. While we were secretly investigating, the Chinese suppliers did not hesitate to talk to us. We even received mock photos of product samples for SOA Organics, our company, without even asking for them. But when it came to learning more about working conditions in the mines, our false start-up wasn't much help.

We decided to try it again in person and headed to Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, a small town near Strasbourg. Once a year one of the largest mineral and gemstone fairs in Europe is held here. Look, it says Madagascar. There is also a lot of rose quartz here. Many retailers are aware of the risks miners face and that they earn very little. Including this wholesaler from Germany. We can't pay the workers. We can only pay the owner. That's how it is and it can't be changed. But if the money went directly to a mine, it would be better than if a wholesaler pocketed it.

Do your customers care about this or are price and quality the deciding factors? 80 percent price and quality. Very few people ask about it. I would say that is our responsibility. But are retailers here up to this responsibility? Doubtful, based on our conversation with another seller. What do you think of the working conditions in the mines? For the workers? Awful. But do you buy anyway? Like everyone. Like everyone. What can we do? At least I try to improve the working conditions of my own workers and my suppliers by paying fairly decent prices. But what happens in the mine?

What can we do? But you see, also in this small space there are at least seven, maybe eight exhibitors carrying stones from Madagascar. And I guess no one is very involved in what happens at the mine. And when clients asked about working conditions or child labor? I can take any photo and delete the one with the children. That's all. What do you want to see? I'll show you what you want to see. And not show you what you don't want to see. That's all. If there are no children in the photos, no problem. Since January 1, 2023, the Supply Chain Law has been in force in Germany, the aim of which is to protect the rights of people who produce goods for the German market.

But does he keep this promise? The law is supposed to force German companies to ensure compliance with labor laws and environmental protection throughout their supply chains. But the law was severely weakened before it was passed. For example, it now only applies to larger companies. This is one of the reasons why we are in Schwäbisch-Gmünd to discuss this topic with Norbert Barthle. Barthle played a key role in the Supply Chain Law for the CDU party as State Secretary in the German Ministry of Development. It was one of the most difficult legislative processes I encountered in my entire parliamentary career.

Our fiercest opponent was Peter Altmaier, in addition to the parliamentariansof the Economic Affairs Committee. They showed fierce opposition. Among other stipulations, we are told that Altmaier objected to the following: How deep should one go? Should the entire supply chain be covered by the law or not? The

business

sector has always referred only to the first level of suppliers. We contacted former Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, who responded that the law could only be passed thanks to this commitment. The new law obliges German companies to ensure compliance with human rights. But with indirect suppliers, only after filing a claim.

We asked the big retailers. But they usually didn't respond or were very evasive. Then we pretended to be a fake startup and asked suppliers in China. They were very willing to tell us where things came from, what countries. But when it came to working conditions, the statement was always: we can't say. But as a German company, that would be all you would need under the new supply chain law, right? In principle yes. Then you would have fulfilled your responsibility. You asked. And if there are no suspicions, if there are no complaints or other information, then that is all the law requires.

But isn't that too little? Yeah, like I said, that was one of the big points of contention: How deep into the supply chain and how binding do you get? I imagine that in the future everything will be a little more binding. But for now a stricter law would not have been approved. Thank you very much for the interview. It was a pleasure. I'm still working on this. Barthle is happy to have gotten the law passed. But the law won't change anything for the people we saw in Madagascar, for the people in the mines. And that is a bitter pill to swallow.

Because, as he said, German companies can also use this excuse, this supply chain law, and say: We asked. But only up to the level they must reach. And that is China. Not Madagascar. So what have we learned from our research? We met people who pay a high price for products whose benefits do not justify that price. No one takes responsibility for the people at the beginning of the supply chain, they are not heard or seen. That is almost always the story of globalization. And Germany's Supply Chain Law won't change that.