Many people talk about child labour - And we do something to prevent it!

Wherever the social situation has improved and children have had a school they could attend, child labour has disappeared.

TERRE DES HOMMES.

Not all child labour is bad, because day-to-day child co-operation is for many families a necessity to survive.

UNICEF

It was against the backdrop of these insights that the branch-oriented aid organization, CARE & FAIR came into being in 1994. This initiative was founded by committed carpet importers and dedicated itself to the combat against child labour in the countries of origin and at the same time the improvement of the situation for carpet knotters as well as their families in the knotting regions of India, Nepal and Pakistan.

We want :

·          to create better living conditions and offer training possibilities carpet knotters and their children in the carpet industries of the countries of origin

·          to make clear to manufacturers through co-operation and partnership that western buyers will no longer be willing to accept products originating from child labour or other socially unacceptable production.

·          to provide an example within industry and trade of the fact that taking on social responsibility serves everybody’s  well-being.

To date, over 450 member companies worldwide have committed themselves to these goals.

CARE & FAIR receives from importers one percent of the value of the imported carpets from India, Nepal and Pakistan. Roughly 85% of the sum flows as “development aid” into the countries of origin. These funds are used for school and training projects as well as for measures of basic medical care in the rural knotting regions often neglected by local governments.

At present, CARE & FAIR supports 30 projects in the above-named countries, 18 school projects, 10 health projects and 2 adult education projects. The standard of our institutions generally lies above the standard of public institutions. All our schools are equipped with tables and benches, and the pupils generally do not pay any tuition. Teachers look after the necessary discipline and classroom cleanliness and our medical practitioners take care of the children’s health.  Moreover, by making our catalogue of demands for carpet producers an integral part of their selling conditions, importers work directly against illegal child labour. Should they come across working children during their purchasing trips, they have the right to withdraw from the purchasing contract and immediately terminate business relations. This kind of supervision and the fear of suffering economic loss, we believe, contribute more effectively to the prevention of child labour than an expensive and ineffective monitoring system ever could.