RugMark Publishes Sourcebook for Designers

Washington, DC, March 11, 2010--RugMark USA is continuing its efforts to eliminate the use of child labor in the carpet industry by publishing the GoodWeave Rug Sourcebook, a guide for designers looking to source handmade rugs that are ethically produced.

More than 70 North American rug companies with products that carry RugMark’s GoodWeave label, certifying they were made with no child labor, will be listed in the book, which will be distributed to thousands of North American designers.
Interior designers can receive free copies by writing to info@GoodWeave.org.

“Even though many of us don’t realize it, we as designers have a choice to make every time we recommend a rug to a client: will we fight child labor or will we support it?” says Betty Wasserman, a RugMark USA board member and interior designer. “I’ve been a designer for nearly 15 years, and I’m still amazed at how easy, and yet so incredibly powerful, that choice is.”

The number of children used in carpet-making work has declined from nearly 1 million to 250,000 since RugMark USA was founded in 1995, the group said.