Label STEP
Label STEP is an international non-profit organization that has set itself the goal of improving the living and working conditions of carpet weavers. It was founded in 1995 by the Swiss development organizations Bread for All , Caritas , the Bern Declaration , Fastenopfer and Swissaid, as well as by the Swiss Interest Group for the Clean Oriental Carpet Trade (IGOT).
From 2007 to 2013 Label STEP was a business unit of the Max Havelaar Foundation Switzerland . It has been an independent organization since 2014. Label STEP has also had an office in Austria since the end of 2002. Label STEP is active in the customer countries France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
According to its own information, the organization carries out regular checks in carpet production in the production countries, currently at more than 300 producers in seven production countries. Label STEP has its own offices in India , Nepal , Pakistan , Iran and Morocco .
In addition, the organization says it supports development projects in the area of carpet production.
Focus of work
The organization says it is committed
- for better working conditions in the countries of origin of the carpets
- for fair wages for manual labor
- against abusive child labor
- for independent production controls
- for development projects to improve the living conditions of the local people
By signing the Label STEP Code , the licensees undertake to adhere to the principles mentioned.
Child labor
In order to combat child labor in a meaningful way, to enable children to attend school and to offer adults a way out of unemployment, the organization says it primarily supports projects that help to improve the working and living conditions of adults they can provide for the maintenance of the whole family and the “right of the child to education and a childhood worth living” ( UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ) can be implemented.
Company label
The organization does not honor individual products, but rather import and trading companies. All handmade carpets in the range of a licensee are subject to fair trade specifications .
Licensees are carpet retailers and wholesalers and importers.
verification
According to its own information, the organization carries out checks on social standards in all of the major carpet countries of origin. According to their own statements, the production facilities of the licensees are visited by Label STEP coordinators at least twice a year and checked for compliance with the Label STEP code .
The licensees themselves are actively committed to improving social conditions in carpet production and in the carpet trade.
Development projects
According to the company, the following priorities are set for the supporting projects:
- Education and training programs for adults and schools for children
- Improvement of the living conditions of carpet weavers and their families
- Ecological production methods
- Safety in the workplace and protective measures in the various post-processing processes
- Preservation of the carpet as a cultural asset
- Knowledge transfer between the countries of the south
The development projects usually have a minimum duration of 3 years. The aim of the initiated projects is to integrate the project approach into local society and hand it over to a local organization or to those responsible on site.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ What we do. (No longer available online.) Label Step, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved September 4, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
