CONTACT: Joretta Purdue (Release # 248) May 14, 1996
WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- A rug is not just a rug when it wears the RUGMARK label, according to executives of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries' Women's Division.
A resolution passed by the 1996 General Conference, the denomination's highest legislative assembly, appears to agree. It calls for working "to eradicate the evils of child labor" by joining the Child Labor Coalition and supporting such consumer initiatives as the RUGMARK campaign.
RUGMARK, a consumer education program of the Child Labor Coalition with headquarters here, seeks to end abusive child labor in the manufacture of hand-knotted carpets. It is estimated more than 1 million children -- some as young as four -- work in servitude.
Women's Division policies include advocating "for corporate responsibility regarding child labor, including support of the RUGMARK campaign," explained Kolya M. Braun, Women's Division executive secretary for children, youth and family advocacy.
Through RUGMARK International, manufacturers may obtain a license to sew the RUGMARK label on their carpets by meeting stringent requirements that assure no child labor is used. Ongoing inspections monitor compliance.
RUGMARK-labelled rugs are expected to reach retail outlets in the United States in June.
The first RUGMARK rugs brought to this country were sold at a silent auction here April 16 to raise funds for the RUGMARK campaign.
The date was the first anniversary of the death of Iqbal Masih, who was enslaved in Pakistan's carpet industry at the age of four and worked in bondage until he was 10. Once freed, he worked against child servitude, winning international acclaim. He was shot to death at the age of 12 while riding his bicycle.
United Methodist Women (UMW) have been active in the Child Labor Coalition, including the purchase of a rug at the silent auction. In addition to contributing financial support to the campaign, the rug will be used to help raise consumer awareness, Braun said.
Last fall, UMW collected more than 6,000 of 15,000 signatures requesting that carpets with the RUGMARK label be made available to consumers in the United States, Braun said.
This summer, the UMW plans to participate in a postcard campaign asking retailers and importers to make RUGMARK carpets available in retail stores, she said.
Some weeks after the postcard campaign, a survey will be conducted to determine where the carpets are being sold, and the resulting data base will be helpful to consumers, she added.
Braun said two importers -- Masterlooms, Inc. and Tufenkian Tibetan Carpets, Inc. -- have made a commitment to carry the RUGMARK carpets.
"Nepal has been really on the forefront of participating in the RUGMARK campaign in that 70 percent of the total rug production in Nepal is now in compliance with RUGMARK," Braun said. Alternatives, including schooling, are being offered to children who had been employed in that industry, she said.
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington.
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