Project duration: Ongoing
Project's focus area: Using the power of the U.S. market to end child labor in South Asia's handmade rug industry.
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In India and Nepal, children aged 4 to 14 are kidnapped or sold into slavery and forced to work up to 18 hours a day, weaving rugs for North American markets. They have no chance to earn their freedom and earn little or no money. These child weavers often suffer malnutrition, wounds from using sharp tools, respiratory diseases from breathing wool fibers, and deformities from sitting long hours, some chained to their loom. Away from home, they don’t get to enjoy childhood and can't go to school.
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GoodWeave rescues these exploited child weavers. We rehabilitate them, giving them the care they need to recover physically and emotionally. The children are reunited with their families if possible and offered an education. GoodWeave is also stopping the cycle of child labor and poverty, so fewer kids are trafficked or enslaved. We do this by educating consumers in North America, working with importers to monitor their weaving factories, and certifying carpets made by adult artisans. |
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GoodWeave believes that if enough people decide to buy one rug over another because it was made without child labor, then retailers and importers will demand only child-labor-free rugs from their manufacturers. The exciting news is it’s working already! In just over a decade since GoodWeave started, the number of “carpet kids” has dropped dramatically - from 1 million to 250,000. With your help and with this project, the number can reach zero in the next decade. |
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"My life up to today is only due to GoodWeave. My parents gave birth to me, but GoodWeave has given me the human life."
- Hem Moktan, Rescued Child Weaver
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Nina Smith,
GoodWeave Founder
2001 S Street NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20009
United States
202-234-9050
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