Rugmark
Encyclopedia
Rugmark is a network of non-profit organization
s dedicated to ending illegal child labour in the rug making
industry. Founded in 1994 by children's rights
activist Kailash Satyarthi
, it provides a certification program that allows companies that pass inspection to attach a logo certifying that their product is made without child labour.
Media outlets world-wide have given detailed coverage to Rugmark. For example, The New York Times
wrote, "the winsome, smiley-face Rugmark label certifies that products are made without child labor."
According to the San Francisco Chronicle
, "Rugmark has helped drastically reform the hand-knotted carpet industry in India
, Nepal
and Pakistan
" The Chicago Tribune
said, "The Rugmark label certifies that the product has not been made with child labor" The Philadelphia Inquirer concluded, "Rugmark is not just a symbol of quality. Its appearance on imported hand-knotted rugs is intended as a signal to consumers that child labor was not used in the production process." Channel 4 News in Belfast
observed, "Rugmark is the best scheme for ensuring that carpets are slave free"
Responding to concern about violation of children’s rights during the 1980s, human rights
organizations in Europe and India, along with UNICEF-India and the Indo-German Export Promotion Council, a German government agency, developed the RugMark program to provide assurance to consumers that the oriental carpets
they were purchasing were made by adults rather than exploited children, and to provide for the long term educational and rehabilitation of children found working illegally on loom
s. Rugmark was formally launched in India in the fall of 1994.
Rugmark expanded into Nepal in 1996. Thereafter, negotiations with Rugmark programs in Germany, Nepal, India, and the U.S. resulted in the formal creation of Rugmark International. An international constitution was adopted in May 1998.
Rugmark International re-branded the certification program and introduced the GoodWeave label in 2009. The organization is also in the process of re-branding to GoodWeave. Today the international network comprises producing country offices in India and Nepal and consumer country offices in the US
, UK
, and Germany
. GoodWeave Germany and GoodWeave UK are currently responsible for licensing throughout Europe while GoodWeave USA is responsible for licensing throughout North America.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s dedicated to ending illegal child labour in the rug making
Rug making
Rug making is an ancient craft, and covers a variety of techniques.-Braided:Braided rugs are made by using three or more strips of fabric, usually wool, folding the raw edges to the middle and braiding them together. For an oval rug the center braid should be one inch longer than the width-length...
industry. Founded in 1994 by children's rights
Children's rights
Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...
activist Kailash Satyarthi
Kailash Satyarthi
Kailash Satyarthi is a human rights activist from India who has been at the forefront of the global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labor since 1980 when he gave up a lucrative career as an Electrical Engineer for initiating crusade against Child Servitude. His organization...
, it provides a certification program that allows companies that pass inspection to attach a logo certifying that their product is made without child labour.
Media outlets world-wide have given detailed coverage to Rugmark. For example, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote, "the winsome, smiley-face Rugmark label certifies that products are made without child labor."
According to the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, "Rugmark has helped drastically reform the hand-knotted carpet industry in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
" The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
said, "The Rugmark label certifies that the product has not been made with child labor" The Philadelphia Inquirer concluded, "Rugmark is not just a symbol of quality. Its appearance on imported hand-knotted rugs is intended as a signal to consumers that child labor was not used in the production process." Channel 4 News in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
observed, "Rugmark is the best scheme for ensuring that carpets are slave free"
Responding to concern about violation of children’s rights during the 1980s, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organizations in Europe and India, along with UNICEF-India and the Indo-German Export Promotion Council, a German government agency, developed the RugMark program to provide assurance to consumers that the oriental carpets
Oriental rug
An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile.By definition - Oriental rugs are rugs that come from the orient...
they were purchasing were made by adults rather than exploited children, and to provide for the long term educational and rehabilitation of children found working illegally on loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
s. Rugmark was formally launched in India in the fall of 1994.
Rugmark expanded into Nepal in 1996. Thereafter, negotiations with Rugmark programs in Germany, Nepal, India, and the U.S. resulted in the formal creation of Rugmark International. An international constitution was adopted in May 1998.
Rugmark International re-branded the certification program and introduced the GoodWeave label in 2009. The organization is also in the process of re-branding to GoodWeave. Today the international network comprises producing country offices in India and Nepal and consumer country offices in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. GoodWeave Germany and GoodWeave UK are currently responsible for licensing throughout Europe while GoodWeave USA is responsible for licensing throughout North America.