mineral · input

Cosmetic Mica / Pearlescent Pigment

Mica-based pearlescent/shimmer pigment for eyeshadow, highlighter, lipstick and nail polish. A large share of natural mica is mined in Jharkhand/Bihar, India, with documented child labor; synthetic (fluorphlogopite) mica is the ethical substitute.

8

Source countries

3

Companies

1

Goods affected

0

Claims on record

What depends on it

Goods that need this input

1 essential American goods rely on cosmetic mica / pearlescent pigment somewhere upstream in their supply chain.

Where it comes from

Source countries

Share of global supply, by country.

Who makes it

Supplier companies

3 companies produce cosmetic mica / pearlescent pigment.

BASF SE(BAS)

HQ DE

World's largest chemical company by revenue; dominant Western producer of food-grade sodium nitrite. BASF expanded sodium nitrite production capacity in Germany specifically to meet growing demand for high-purity pharmaceutical and food applications. Primary production at Ludwigshafen (world's largest contiguous chemical complex). Also produces sodium nitrite catalysts, sulfuric acid, and intermediates for pharmaceutical synthesis. BASF sells food-grade sodium nitrite to meat processors globally through distribution networks and third-party channels.

Kuncai (Zhejiang Kuncai)

HQ CN

One of the world's largest pearlescent (mica-based effect) pigment makers; also synthetic mica.

Merck KGaA (MilliporeSigma in US)(MRK)

HQ DE

German multinational producing the Hi-Flow Plus nitrocellulose membrane — one of the two industry-standard LFA membranes globally. Received a €121M US DoD/HHS contract to build the first US lateral flow membrane facility in Sheboygan, WI (2022) to reduce concentration risk in Cork, Ireland.