U.S. Removes Indian-Made Carpets from Child Labor List

The Indian carpet industry has long been synonymous with child labor and horrific and abusive working conditions for children. However, this week the U.S. Department of Labor removed carpets made in India from their updated list of goods made with child or forced labor, citing improvements in the industry. Has one of the most notorious child labor industries really improved that much? Or was the government too hasty in giving Indian carpets the green light?

The abuses against children in the carpet industry in India was one of the first forms of outsourced child labor to come to light in the 80s and 90s. In addition to the low (or no) wages, the lack of education, and the poor living conditions these children suffer, working in the carpet industry can be dangerous. The machines can trap tiny fingers, the constant knot-tying in dim light can harm eyesight, and the bending and crouching can often impede bone growth and development. As word spread about the conditions children in the Indian carpet industry faced, Western consumers and governments called for reform.

In response, organizations like Rugmark (now Goodweave), began offering child labor-free certifications for carpets coming out of India and other countries where child labor was rampant. The Indian government, in turn, also implemented a third-party monitoring system in 2001. According to reports from that monitoring, child labor in the carpet industry has drastically decreased. So after a decade of efforts, the U.S. has deemed Indian carpets to be child labor-free enough to be dropped from the Department of Labor's watch list.

But have they acted too soon? The third-party monitoring system, while excellent for ensuring fair treatment of workers, is only being implemented with registered carpet looms. In India, there are an (unknown) number of unregistered looms which aren't being monitored for child labor violations. And in a place like India with massive informal markets and economic sectors, it's very easy for carpets from unregistered looms to make it onto the international market. Furthermore, child labor-made carpets from neighboring countries Pakistan and Bangladesh (both still on the list) can be routed through India and escape U.S. vigilance.

While the Indian government has taken some important and effective steps toward ending child labor in the carpet industry, it's not quite time to break out the champagne. There is still a lot of work to prevent child labor and forced labor of adults working unregistered looms or in informal factories. Buying certified or Fair Trade carpets from India is still the best way to support the Indian carpet industry, but not child labor.

Photo credit: ryemang