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ORIENTAL RUG ZINE
CHILD LABOR ISSUES
FROM A MANUFACTURER’S VIEWPOINT
Mason Purcell
In many Third World countries, the sole alternatives to a child’s working in a trade in the family home, or in a factory or farm, are to work as professional
thieves and beggars, or in child prostitution. Those employments, to me at least, constitute a far worse fate for a child than working in a trade.
It is both arrogant and patronizing of us to tell “foreigners” that they must give up their religious beliefs and cultural traditions because our way is
better than theirs. It is likewise unfair and useless to tell parents that they must not teach their traditional trades and crafts to their children because children
should be in school instead. I personally wish children were both in school and learning trades, as many are, but achieving this ideal will take time and improved economic circumstances in the Third World.
In Afghan society, a girl who is an accomplished weaver brings a very high dowry (which is the woman’s own, paid by her husband-to-be) because she is
considered a great asset to her new family. This also ensures that she receives excellent treatment in her new home. Who are we to tell a mother she
cannot teach her daughter a trade, which will give her a better life? I do not hear any of these agencies offering alternatives other than unspecified
“education,” without the prospect of the educated children having a chance at a job, after the “education” is complete.
In the face of the grinding poverty of Pakistan and the religion and culture of its people, is regulation and oversight by Western agencies going to stop child labor? Of course not. Among the many
other inadequacies of Western regulation is the fact that any “inspector” coming around the family compound asking to see the ladies of the house will end up facing the wrong end of an AK-47, wielded by
an irate husband or father.
Education will eliminate child labor only when there are also jobs available for educated people in the Third World. This is not currently the case. One of my chowkidars (house guards) spoke several languages, had a Masters
degree in Economics and was unable to get any other job in Pakistan. (I found him a better job with an NGO, but he still is under-employed.)
Banning products from those countries accused of propagating child labor hurts the very people we are allegedly trying to help. It increases poverty, which is the root cause of child labor. Buying their products will aid their
climb up the economic ladder, increase the need for education and, ultimately, eliminate child labor.
Parenthetically, would we not be a bit offended if an Islamic country banned our products because our women are treated improperly, made to work outside the family home, and do not cover themselves.
In my own experience, the worst working conditions are in companies owned by native manufacturers. The foreigners tend to do a lot better, in terms of
pay and working conditions. In my own manufacture, I make it clear in my contracts that no one under legal working age is to work on the looms for me. I do spot inspections without warning
to check who is weaving, and I fire the ones who break the rules. Being a woman is handy, as I can both see and speak to my weavers. My weavers work in good light, with good ventilation,
on one or two looms located on porches outside the family homes. I give long-term contracts, so that the good weavers are assured of continued employment. Some local manufacturers in the NWFP give specific meter
contracts, after completion of which, the weaver is out of work, and do not ask under what conditions the rugs are made. Each of my looms is on a computerized system, certified to the head of household, with a list of who can
work on the loom appended. I have been told, however, (by a certain organization wanting to inspect/certify carpets as free of child labor) that “self inspection is not credible.”
So What is the Solution?
If oversight and inspection by Western agencies cannot stop child labor abuses, if education alone cannot stop child labor, and if boycotting the
products of countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot stop child labor, what can?
The solution is two-fold. First, pressure must be brought to bear on native rug manufacturers by those who order rugs. Secondly, the West must act on
policies that help Third World countries overcome poverty rather than policies that increase poverty.
Self-regulation and inspection by the persons ordering the carpets is the only way to insure that child labor is not used. If a native manufacturer knows the
buyer will reject his goods if child labor is used, he will make sure not to use it. He cannot afford to risk rejection of a major order because it will put him out of business.
I am a member of the Oriental Rug Importers Association (the US Trade Association of carpet manufacturers and importers) the members of which place the following label on their weaving contracts:
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“It is the policy of this company to purchase only merchandise produced without the use of illegal child labor. We
expect that you as our manufacturer shall take every reasonable step to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that floor coverings you export to ___________________ are free from the use of illegal child labor. The
definition of illegal child labor is clearly spelled out in existing laws of your country. By entering into this agreement for the sale of floor coverings to our company, you are
agreeing to abide by these laws and you understand that this order and any future purchase orders are conditional upon the shipment of only goods free from the use of illegal child labor.”
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Personally, I also tell them in specific detail, that, if I catch a weaver too young on the loom, I will cut the carpet off the loom and sack the family. I
have done so, often enough that they know that I mean it.
Unfortunately, also, any certification process can be gotten round very easily. I have seen iron-on labels saying “Genuine Oriental Rug – No Child Labour Used”
as well as facsimile Rug Mark labels for sale in the bazaars of Pakistan. Sure, they are fakes, but how will the consumer know? How, even, will the wholesale buyer know? In many Third World countries, anything can
be certified for the right price.
The second part of the two-fold solution and the only real cure for the child labor problem is to improve the economies of the Third World, not through
dumping money indiscriminately on the problems via unqualified NGO’s, but through increased trade, liberalized import allocations and reduced duties and tariffs on these goods. Giving trade concessions to those Third-World
countries that are making determined efforts to increase education and decrease child labor would encourage other countries to follow suit. Encouraging joint ventures (via trade and tariff means) between the US and
these countries would further this cause.
Child labor abuses ended slowly in the West, and then only after the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Eventually, improving economics made it
unnecessary for an entire family to work, and improved prospects made it economically feasible and advisable for people to become more educated. Nothing will eliminate child labor in the East but improved economics,
coupled with improved access to education, as per capita income in the Third World rises.
Consumers should ask about the conditions under which goods are manufactured, but also take the time to familiarize themselves with the conditions in the Third World in general. Unquestioning belief in
emotional claims of abuse and avoidance of Third World products accomplishes nothing. This is an area of many shades of gray, not simply of black and white.
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Photographs:1,3,4,5,6 published; Thompson, J., Carpet Magic, Barbican Art Gallery, London 1983.
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