GoodWeave modernizes its fight against child labor in the rug industry

The D.C.-based nonprofit GoodWeave has been fighting child exploitation by rug producers in Nepal, India and Afghanistan for more than 20 years.
Now, it’s planning to modernize its operations — by equipping its inspectors with handheld devices.
GoodWeave deters child labor by making the international rug trade industry more transparent, Executive Director Nina Smith explained.
“When a company, importer or retailer of handmade rugs becomes partner with GoodWeave … they agree to open their supply chains [in those three countries] to unannounced inspections,” she said.
Each rug from a dealer that has been vetted by the organization is labeled and assigned a traceable number.

“A consumer can flip over the corner of a carpet and can find this label that tells them that no child labor was used,” said Smith.
In order to manage the inspection data, the complex invoicing and a listing of hundreds of traders, GoodWeave has been using software by FileMaker, a subsidiary of Apple.
This year, GoodWeave plans to also modernize the inspection process by replacing the clipboards and pens of its teams on the ground with handheld devices like iPads.
That will simplify the data entry process, and also provide a more secure platform for “highly sensitive information” on incidences of child labor, said Smith.