Skoll Entrepreneur(s): Nina Smith
Change(s) Addressed: Economic & Social Equity

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DESCRIPTION:

Rugmark International was founded in 1994 by Kailash Satyarthi to eliminate the exploitation of bonded child laborers in carpet manufacturing. In Nepal, Pakistan and India, the organization monitors factories, certifies carpets made without bonded labor and rescues and educates exploited child laborers. In consumer countries, Rugmark seeks to create market preference for certified rugs through use of the Rugmark label. In 1999, Nina Smith brought her experience in fair trade and her passion for children to the campaign and launched Rugmark Foundation USA to educate consumers and persuade them to seek out the Rugmark label, so that the preference for certified rugs will work its way down the supply chain and eventually force manufacturers to stop exploiting children or lose their place in the market. Rugmark became GoodWeave in 2009.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS OF 2010

• In 2009, U.S. market share for GoodWeave certified child-labor-free rugs grew 30% (despite the bad market) to reach 4.2%. The GoodWeave consumer awareness campaign reached an estimated 57 million individuals.
• At RugMark’s debut in 1994, 1,000,000 children were exploited at the looms of South Asia. Today, that number is 250,000. Inspectors have directly rescued 3,600 children from looms, with thousands more deterred due to fewer producers seeking child labor. 9,000 children have attended school under GoodWeave sponsorship.
• In 2009, RugMark drafted its new GoodWeave standard, which expands its child-labor-free certification to add requirements on of-age workers and environment. The new standard, which tackles poverty more directly, brings with it plans to expand into additional countries and other textile products in the next few years.