Ariana Rugs in GoodWeave Program

Washington, DC, Nov. 15, 2012 --  — Ariana Rugs of Los Angeles has joined the GoodWeave certification program, marking an international milestone as the first importer of Afghanistan rugs with a supply chain that is certified child-labor-free.

“Carpet weaving is Afghanistan’s largest legal industry, and GoodWeave hopes to help revitalize the industry in a fair and ethical way,” says Nina Smith, executive director of GoodWeave USA, a nonprofit organization working to eliminate child labor in the handmade rug industry.

GoodWeave uses a market-based model to achieve its goals by licensing U.S. and European importers and their exporters in Asia who commit to the GoodWeave standard. Each GoodWeave rug carries a label with a number that can be traced through the supply chain, certifying that the rug was made child-labor-free.

Ariana Rugs owners, siblings Ahmad, Alex and Nadia Ahmadi, were born and raised in Afghanistan.