Care & Fair is an initiative of the European carpet trade, created so the industry could be held to account for conditions in the weaving regions.
Carpet traders founded the worldwide association Care & Fair, Carpet Trade Against Child Labour, in September 1994. Since then, Care & Fair has organised industry-funded self-help programmes that fight illegal child labour and improve conditions for weavers and their families in the carpet-producing regions of India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Care & Fair today has around 400 members across 21 consumer countries and the 3 countries of origin.
Care & Fair's aims are:
- An end to illegal child labour in India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
- Better living conditions for carpet-knotting families.
- Production only from workshops where pay, hours, and safety have been checked. Members accept no other goods.
- Responsibility taken by the trade itself, reported openly so other traders can follow suit.
Care & Fair currently supports 13 schools, 7 adult education centres, and 6 day-care clinics in India, Nepal, and Pakistan.