Washington—Four more rug companies have joined GoodWeave, the international nonprofit working to end child labor in the rug industry and to offer educational opportunities to children in South Asia child-labor-free rug certification.
With the addition of these companies, GoodWeave now licenses 80 North American importers to use the GoodWeave label on their child-labor-free rugs. “In joining GoodWeave, these industry leaders are helping bring GoodWeave closer to its 2011 goal of capturing a 6% market share for child-labor-free rugs,” said Nina Smith, executive director. “That means a lot more than contributing to a given company’s bottom line: Every percentage point in market gain prevents an estimated 1,000 children from entering the workforce, not to mention generating the funds to rescue and educate hundreds of other working children.”
GoodWeave’s new industry partners:
- Kim Parker Home, based in New York City, is the winner of three international awards for “best in flooring design.” Founded in 2001 by acclaimed artist, textile designer and author Kim Parker, the brand features her signature hand-painted floral and geometric textile designs on a range of lifestyle products such as designer rugs, bedding, bath, fabrics, decorative pillows and wall art. For the past decade the brand has been carried in some of the finest retailers worldwide.
- Square Foot by Lina Miranda, a Brazilian company, creates handmade, vegetable-dyed rugs at sizes up to 300 square feet. Square Foot has a small rug collection designed each year, with the majority of the rugs being custom-made, and is GoodWeave’s first member in South America.
- Proper Rugs, based in Philadelphia, Penn., sells hand knotted wool and silk Tibetan rugs designed to tell a story. Each rug is made to order, and sizes and colors are customizable.
- RugGuy Galleriez Inc. in West Dundee, Ill., manufactures high-end Tibetan rugs, and specializes in custom stair runners, as well as more standard-sized rugs.
Full-length profiles of all GoodWeave member companies, as well as a complete list of retailers that sell GoodWeave certified rugs, are available at GoodWeave.org.