GoodWeave

Child-Labor-Free Certification

The GoodWeave label is the best assurance that no child labor was used in the making of your rug. In order to earn the GoodWeave label, rug exporters and importers must be licensed under the GoodWeave certification program and sign a legally binding contract to:

1. Adhere to the no-child-labor standard and not employ any person under age 14
2. Allow unannounced random inspections by local inspectors
3. Endeavor to pay fair wages to adult workers
4. Pay a licensing fee that helps support GoodWeave’s monitoring, inspections and education programs

To ensure compliance, independent GoodWeave inspectors make unannounced inspections of each loom. If inspectors find children working, they offer them the opportunity to go to school instead, and the producers lose their status with GoodWeave. To protect against counterfeit labeling, each label is numbered so its origin can be traced to the loom on which the rug was produced.

GoodWeave also sets contractual standards for companies that import certified rugs. Importers agree to source only from GoodWeave certified exporters in India, Nepal and any other country in which GoodWeave rugs are available. In the United States and other rug-importing countries, only licensed importers are legally permitted to sell carpets carrying the GoodWeave label.

Importers and exporters also help support the GoodWeave certification program and its commitment to provide rehabilitation and schooling for all rescued children. Exporters pay 0.25 percent of the export value of each rug, and importers pay a licensing fee of 1.75 percent of the shipment value. Licensing fees go toward monitoring, inspections and educational programs that are part of the GoodWeave program.

GoodWeave's certification standards are set by RugMark International, an associate member of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling Alliance (ISEAL), which leads the world in setting norms and good practices for certification. RugMark's national offices in producer countries implement and enforce the standards.

In the future, the GoodWeave label will mean even more. In addition to addressing the problem of child labor, GoodWeave's certification standard will include other environmental and social criteria, guided by ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice. To learn more, visit www.GoodWeave.net.