December 2011 – UK High Street Retailers pay lip-service to the prevention of child labour in their supply chains says Samantha Towle, Executive Director of GoodWeave UK, part of the international rug labelling scheme and charity that works to end child labour: "The buyers of major high street department stores and DIY chains I visit are under huge pressure to maintain profit margins but often at the expense of young children forced to make rugs 16 hours a day, seven days a week; despite the facts staring them in the face, most retailers are in denial that child labour in the rug industry is still a big issue."

GoodWeave Nepal has just been selected by The STARS Foundation as the winner of the 2011 Asia-Pacific STARS Impact Award in the category of Protection. The $100,000 Impact Award recognises the work that GoodWeave does in Nepal in both rescuing and preventing children from entering child labour in the rug industry. The Nepalese rug industry exports extensively to the UK.

Arun Paudel, Executive Director of GoodWeave Nepal, will be presented with the STARS award and $100,000.00 funding at the British Academy Thursday 24th November accompanied by Samantha Towle and other GoodWeave Board members. Towle is delighted but wants UK retailers to do more: "The Award is excellent news and the funding will help thousands of children in Nepal, but we could do so much more if major retailers accepted their responsibilities and only sourced ethically produced rugs made under the GoodWeave labelling scheme – if their customers knew that they were buying a rug which could easily have been made by exploiting children, they would be appalled".

According to Towle some retailers and major brands have put codes of practice and audit schemes in place with their suppliers, but they are insufficient to prevent child labour, which is often hidden in small subcontractor workshops: "These companies know they still have a problem, but they seem to lack the conviction to make a stand and start tackling it." Samantha wants major retailers to start working with GoodWeave on rugs, and then extend the partnership to other high risk product categories.

GoodWeave labelled rugs are sold by a number of independent rug retailers and designers* but none of the major High Street chains. B&Q has supported the initiative for a while, but it is understood they have decided to opt out in 2012 due to a perceived lack of consumer interest.

For further information about GoodWeave and a full list of participating GoodWeave licensees and GoodWeave Marketing Partners in the UK please visit www.goodweave.org.uk; T: 07740 459279; info@goodweave.org.uk

ENDS.

Additional information:

For more information about the STARS Foundation visit www.starsfoundation.org.uk

* GoodWeave Retail Partners in the UK: Bazaar Velvet, Deirdre Dyson, Jacaranda Carpet, Knots Interiors, Liz Eeuwes, Matthew Wailes, Modern Rugs, Rimo Designs, The Rug Company, Rug-maker.com, The RugStore NE, WovenGround

GoodWeave is an international, not-for-profit organisation, which aims to eradicate the exploitation of children in the making of rugs, which has been, and continues to be a significant issue worldwide. GoodWeave is active in Nepal and India and is running a pilot scheme in Afghanistan, running independent inspector teams and working with local communities and local non government organisations to rescue rug children. They help weaving communities to protect their children from exploitation and benefit from improved working conditions. The scheme is largely funded by signed up producers and importers of rugs in the West, who in return are able to sell their rugs bearing the GoodWeave label. UK Retailers can support the scheme by demanding GoodWeave labelled rugs from their importers or setting an ethical policy for their own internal buying teams.

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Fay Handley
Dixon Handley Marketing
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