Home > RUGMARK India : Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between RUGMARK and other labelling initiatives in the carpet industry?

RUGMARK educates, rehabilitates and provides health-care to the children removed from carpet weaving and also children of the poor carpet weavers. In addition, it carries out regular inspections of carpet looms. These are fully independent of the carpet industry.

Other labelling schemes operate social programmes such as schools and health clinics in carpet producing areas, but do not carry out inspections that take children off looms. Most of the labelling schemes provide labels to the entire retail establishments rather than to individuals which only RUGMARK labelling schemes undertake.

2. What is the authenticity of RUGMARK labels?

Each RUGMARK labelled carpet has a serial number. With this number one can get (among other information) minute details such as the name of the company, origin, quality, value and the loom at which it was produced. Anyone who wants to verify if a carpet is a genuine RUGMARK carpet is invited to submit the country, origin and label number to RUGMARK Foundation and we can verify if that carpet has been certified by RUGMARK.

3.How does RUGMARK Foundation, India co-operate with other development agencies and NGOs?

RUGMARK-India is an open scheme. It attracts visitors from many foreign countries and from India (such as government representatives, politicians, members of bilateral & multilateral donor agencies, journalists, educationists, NGO's, exporters and importers).

"Inspections" in this sense have always been welcomed. In the past, a number of visits have been made by German NGOs, UNICEF, International Foundations, the German Secretary of Labour, the US Embassy in Delhi, the Social Secretary of the German Embassy in India etc.

4. What are the immediate steps taken by RUGMARK Foundation, India?

A better co-operation with other agencies like Care and Fair, STEP and UNICEF is being worked out in the near future. It has been suggested to improve the dialogue with Care and Fair-India and to evaluate the areas in which co-operation is possible.

5.How does RUGMARK creates awareness about the carpet without child labour ?

RUGMARK is a certification trademark that assures importers and buyers that carpets with this label have been manufactured/exported by a company which has committed itself to work without illegal child labour, and which is subject to an effective surveillance mechanism. The initiative tries to achieve this through:

(a) creating awareness of the illegality of child labour.
(b) make the RUGMARK scheme known in buying countries.
(c) carry out social projects for education and training.

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