The Swiss fair trade Label STEP is again represented at the Domotex, the leading trade fair for handmade carpets (January 14 – 17, Hannover). The organisation brings urgent social and ecological topics from the carpet industry to the floor, and explains why fairly produced and traded carpets are existential for the future of the branch. Country representative Ismail Wameq is travelling from Af-ghanistan to report on the newest Label STEP initiative.

Basel/Hannover, 9.1.2012. At the same time, the label supports its partners in the field: Many exhibiting designers and traders at the fair are licence holders of the label, and commit themselves to the label’s fair trade standard in their production and trade of their carpets. 

 
Passionate Partners

The youngest partner of Label STEP is Julia Gèsine Stefan, who is starting her own carpet label under the name Bó Hamsa (more Information). The collection will be presented at the fair for the first time. The goal of Bó Hamsas is to inspire passionate interior worlds and lifestyles. The designer conveys her interest in ethnological tribal textiles, art, fashion and craft, bringing contemporary carpet design to a new generation. (hall 20, stand C18).

Other Label STEP licence holders at the fair are:

• Creative Matters (hall 20, B16),
• Jan Kath (hall 20, B15),
• Knots Rugs (hall 20, C16),
• Makalu Design (hall 20, B02), Mischioff (hall 20, B20)
• Paulig Teppiche (hall 4, C19).

Label STEP looks forward to meeting companies who are not yet licence holders at their own stand C18/1 in hall 20 and calls on the carpet trade to get involved as fair trade partners for the future of the branch.

Afghanistan in Focus

For more than 15 years, Label STEP has been committed to fair conditions in the production and trade of handmade carpets. In addition to India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan and Turkey, the organi-sation has been active in Afghanistan for the past year, where they are supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Label STEP is consequently the only organisation with liaison offices in every important carpet producing country.

In Afghanistan, Label STEP is primarily improving the working and living conditions of the carpet weavers: Following a comprehensive study, self-help initiatives were established in carpet villages and supervised by Label STEP employees. At the same time, medical care of the carpet weavers, many living below the poverty line, was improved. Long-term undertakings in the form of educational activities about basic rights, fair wages and health in the workplace seek to improve their situation. At the national level, Label STEP is lobbying for the introduction of minimum wages for carpet workers and raising awareness about fair trade standards among producers and exporters. The development work in Afghanistan is especially valuable, because carpets are one of their most important export goods. At least one million Afghans are employed through the carpet industry.

The Label STEP country representative in Afghanistan, Ismail Wameq, will attend the fair and is available to the press for the first time.

Read the Rug World News

Label STEP introduces its activities in the Rug World News, a newspaper published specifically for the Do-motex. The rules for the carpet trade are presented in it. Also available to read in the paper is how the organ-isation is active in individual countries of production. Consistently, the main topics include the fight for fair wages, healthy working conditions, school education for the children of carpet weavers as well as the con-servation of the weaving tradition. Furthermore, Label STEP contributes to ecologically responsible production. For instance, water filtration facilities were constructed in Nepali dyeing mills.

Label STEP – fair trade with handcrafted carpets

The fair trade Label STEP distinguishes carpet traders who are socially committed to carpet workers: For good working conditions and environmentally friendly production methods, for fair purchasing prices and equitable wages, against abusive child labour and for independent monitoring of their production.

These fair trade guidelines are not only applicable for individual carpets of a Label STEP license holder, but for their entire assortment of handmade carpets. The licence holders are obligated to disclose the entirety of their purchases and supply chains, to submit to monitoring and introduce improvement measures where necessary.