From RugMark's Faces of Freedom Exhibition (c) U. Roberto Romano
Today is World Day against Child Labour, drawing attention to a problem which is particularly widespread in the carpet industry in countries such as Nepal, Pakistan and India.
Fortunately, organizations such as RugMark and Care & Fair are actively working against these practices, and are rescuing and educating children who previously had no other options.
According to their website, since 1994 RugMark has helped to reduce the number of child carpet weavers in South Asia from one million to 300,000. You can do your part by ensuring that the rugs you purchase are certified to be free of child labour. Rugs by ethical producers, such as Lapchi, Creative Matters, Diurne, Satia, are all certified by RugMark, guaranteeing that no child labour is employed in their production.
For more information, see a related story by Unicef, or visit the RugMark website.
