Gorgeous No Child Labour Carpets by Nani Marquina
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain 
on 07.31.07
We wish to say congratulations to Nani Marquina for 20 years (watch video here) of brilliant work in the world of carpets! We mentioned Nani Marquina’s carpet collection made from recycled bicycle inner tubes and the Emiliana felt slippers but it’s time we give you the whole story about this fabulous Barcelonian carpet designer.
For each product, a kind of poetic product life cycle assessment is being done: 'each product always tries to give a synthesis: of who thinks up the product, of who makes it, who looks after it and all those who enjoy it.' What we love about these carpets, apart from the fact that they are simply gorgeous, is that they are almost always made from natural materials such as jute or wool, which makes them 100% biodegradable. The very strong point however lies in the ability to join East and West by carpet. Nani Marquina’s carpets are hand-made in India, Nepal or Pakistan and guarantee that no child labour was involved in producing them.
All carpets carry the Care & Fair label, an organisation that since 1995 acts against child labour and helps improve education and health. All the carpets made in India also bear the label of KALEEN, issued but the council of India to guarantee again that no child labour was employed during carpet production.
Watch a beautiful and convincing video about the production (under 'Manufacture' - 'Film') and make sure to look for such labels when shopping for rugs.
Nani Marquina doesn’t stop caring about her rugs once they are sold, so in case a nasty stain decided to make itself comfortable on yours, check out ‘Stains’ under ‘Looking after and cleaning’ for some very cute tips! Under ‘Info’ you can find a distributor near you. ::Nani Marquina
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While I applaud Nani Marquina’s efforts to create products that are not only beautiful but sustainable, I would like to make a couple of comments about the points made in your article: first, Care & Fair is a wonderful charity that provides valuable services to residents within the carpet weaving regions. However, it does not “act against child labor”. The organization does not monitor or inspect looms against any form of labor abuse – illegal child labor or otherwise. I support the organization wholeheartedly but please be clear – they do not “act against child labor”. The Care & Fair label means a small portion of the cost has been donated to the organizations health and education services – which by the way is a very good thing!
Secondly, the KALEEN label is issued by the government of India. Assuming a government agency of India can (and will) provide a credible inspection and monitoring system for an industry with a long history of labor abuses – the label would only be applicable for products produced in India, not Nepal or Pakistan. What steps has Nani Marquina taken to ensure no illegal child labor is used in these countries. Also, if in fact the KALEEN label is a credible assurance that no illegal child labor was used to produced these beautiful products, why do a number of major Indian exporters incur the significant added expense of managing their own inspection and monitoring system and/or outsourcing it to third party organizations? Consumers should always look beneath the marketing of these labels to ensure they’re not a victim of “greenwashing”.