Carpet manufacturers often resort to.................

unethical practices by employing child-labor and/or forced labor.

Though the practice has been mitigated considerably after the energetic fight against child labor by KailashSatyarthy, followed by Carpet Export Promotion Council, Rug Mark, Care & Fair and other NGOs in the nineties but the practice is still quite unchecked though they are less visible because of the clandestine methods being applied by the manufacturers.

Many carpet importers, of them Ikea of Sweden have been very active, took extreme precaution and have tried to implement social accountability norms but these buyers account for only a small part of the whole.

To control it, is a bit difficult because it is a cottage industry which extend deep into hinterland covering an area of more than 15000 square kilometers but, I believe, a solution can be worked out, if the industry takes a sober look at the grim situation.

In fact, the industry will benefit immensely if we can convince the world by presenting our stratagem, action plan and fixing a target for wiping this menace from its very root.

We should not forget the pronouncement that ‘if there is a problem there is a solution’.

All over the world, including India, large corporate houses are no more shirking from their ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’.

Unfortunately, to my best knowledge, there is no unit in this Bhadohi/Mirzapur carpet belt who has given a serious thought towards that responsibility. There is a need that all carpet manufacturing units take a grave look at that.

I am quite certain that their attention in this direction will have sweeping affect and the problem of unethical practice and other evils can be solved much faster than one can imagine.

In general, people are very much aware that, sooner or later, the undercover following of unethical practice will put them into trouble. They may be benefiting from that, but they find not any succor in that practice.

They very well know that this wrong practice will have to go especially after implementation of new law against employment of child-labor from October 10, 2006.

What we need is a little serious initiative from large houses and the problem, I feel, will get resolved consequentially.