Asian carpets without child labour

The first Indian carpets bearing the new Rugmark label - to show production has not involved exploited child labour - have arrived in Germany.

Although Rugmark carpets are not yet available in the UK, a limited range was displayed by two major German carpet importers at an annual exhibition in Germany in January '95. German sales of oriental carpets far outstrip sales in any other Western country.

Following the exhibition, a Rugmark carpet was presented to Mrs Antje Vollmer, Vice President of the German parliament.

German taxpayers are currently funding the Rugmark Foundation, set up in 1994 by the Indo-German Export Promotion project and the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), which has been campaigning against child labour in the industry for ten years, and which is supported by Christian Aid. It is hoped that the Rugmark Foundation will eventually be financed from a one per cent levy on the price of carpets paid by Rugmark licensees. Ninety manufacturers have so far applied for licences.

'Though Rugmark carpets are not yet available in shops here, the campaign has meant that many UK retailers are in contact with their Indian suppliers to try to ensure they are not stocking carpets made illegally by children,' says Christian Aid's Eileen Maybin.