Child labor in hand made rugs decreasing..but not gone yet....

 I first learned about child slave labor in Asian rug manufacturing factories about 4 years ago. I was appalled to hear first hand stories of young children forced against their will to weave rugs for long hours in dismal conditions at slave (if any) wages. I vowed then and there to offer only rugs that are certified to be free of child labor.  If inexpensive hand made wood rugs are inexpensive because children were forced to weave them, I want no part in that rug sale. 

 

 Here is a great recap on the internationally known Good Weave program and

y favorite hand made  rug suppliers at Azadi rugs in Telluride.  Not only are their rugs certified child labor free, their service is excellent and you can trade your rug in at any time for a different style or size! Thanks Azadi, for being a Good Weave Champion. You and your company totally rock. 

Sarah Sumner Fusion Interiors

 

BUSINESS BRIEFS | AZADI Fine Rugs Becomes GoodWeave a Certified Champion

by Watch Staff

Jul 29, 2013 | 775 views | 0  | 21  |  | 

TELLURIDE – AZADI Fine Rugs in Telluride is proud to announce they have become a champion of the GoodWeave certification label, partnering with the organization to give consumers the power to end child labor through a simple act: demanding certified child-labor-free rugs. 

GoodWeave is an internationally acclaimed organization that works to end child labor in the handmade rug industry and offer educational opportunities to children in weaving communities.  They will be holding a GoodWeave celebration event on Thursday, July 25, ^,from 4-6 p.m. at their Colorado Avenue location.

Most consumers don’t realize that the carpet-making industry is rife with child labor. April 16 marked the anniversary of the death of Pakistani rug-slave-turned-activist Iqbal Massih who inspired the work of GoodWeave. He was sold into bonded labor at age 4 and chained to a carpet loom until he escaped six years later and began speaking out against the industry. He won the Reebok human rights award in the early 1990s and was killed in 1995 at the age of 11.

Since founder and executive director of GoodWeave, U.S.A. Nina Smith launched GoodWeave in 2000 child labor in the industry is down 75 percent. 

“Consumers drive their demands for fair labor practices back onto the market.” said Smith. “Through the sale of nearly eight million child-labor free rugs worldwide the number of ‘carpet kids’ has dropped from 1 million to 250,000.”

GoodWeave-certified producers comply with an extensive certification standard and undergo monitoring of their facilities. Importers of Good Weave textiles pay a small royalty fee that Good Weave and partner organizations use to educate and rehabilitate former child weavers. The GoodWeave label is the best assurance that no child labor was used in the making of a carpet or rug.

“We are honored to take our place with companies globally that have taken a stand for children in weaving communities,” said AZADI Fine Rugs owner David Neishabori.

The celebration at AZADI in Telluride will also include images from the acclaimed Faces of Freedom photography exhibit during the GoodWeave event which offers a look into the heart of that transformation. This traveling photo exhibition, sponsored by GoodWeave and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, takes you behind the looms and inside the carpet factories of South Asia. The stunning images were captured by photo documentarian, filmmaker and human rights educator U. Roberto Romano.

AZADI Fine Rugs is located 217 W. Colorado Avenue. They also have locations in Scottsdale and Sedona, Ariz. For more information about AZADI Fine Rugs call 970/728-4620 or go to www.azadifinerugs.com.

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