"The Hidden Cost Of Beauty", 13 July 2023
The report, The High Price of Beauty, shows that while beauty products may be “cruelty free” in that they are not tested on animals, they are likely to include ingredients procured using child labour.

In particular, products such as vanilla, cocoa, palm oil, shea, copper, and mica are often used in cosmetics, but consumers are often unaware that these products are harvested or mined by children as young as five in countries such as Indonesia, India, Ghana, Cote I’ivoire, and Madagascar.

World Vision’s Head of Advocacy and Justice, Rebekah Armstrong, says child labour should have no place in the make-up bags of New Zealanders.

“We know that New Zealanders value beauty products that are natural, sustainable, and cruelty-free, but at this point in time we have no way to ensure that our cosmetics are genuinely “cruelty free” because we have no laws in place requiring businesses to monitor and address modern slavery and child labour in their supply chains.”

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New Zealanders wanting to ensure that their beauty products are made free from child labour can also sign World Vision and Tearfund’s open letter supporting the urgent introduction of comprehensive modern slavery legislation here:

https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/progress-modern-slavery-legislation-before-the-election