Child Labor in the Soccer Ball Industry
Published November 24, 2008 @ 10:04AM PT
We've been doing a lot of sports talk lately, namely about bringing more fair trade into the sporting goods industry. One of the major issues that has been plaguing the sporting goods industry is the problem of rampant child labor that is often found in factories where the equipment is made.
In 1996, the International Labor Rights Forum brought to light major instances of child labor in the soccer ball industry in Pakistan. An investigation of various factories discovered children between the ages of 5-14 stitching soccer balls 10-11 hours per day. It was further discovered that many of the children were working in bondage to their employers in order to pay off their parents' debts.
People were up and arms after these reports came out and action was immediately taken.
The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) adopted a Code of Labor Practice for all manufacturers of balls carrying the FIFA label in September, 1996. Then, the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, Save the Children (UK), and the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed the Partners' Agreement to Eliminate Child Labour in the Soccer Industry in Pakistan on February 14, 1997 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1999, relying on research conducted with the Association of Network for Community Empowerment (ANCE), ILRF released “Child Labor in the Soccer Ball Industry—A Report on Continued Use of Child Labor in the Soccer Ball Industry in Pakistan,” which was critical of progress on child labor eradication since the Atlanta Agreement.
It is now 2008, and the ILRF put out another report and unfortunately it's not looking so good for India.
After over a decade of promised reforms from the sporting goods industry, child labor in soccer ball production continues. Efforts in the 1990’s to expose abuses in the assembly of soccer balls in Pakistan pushed businesses into India, where children continue to work in this industry. The report shows that industry initiatives have failed to improve the lives of thousands of children forced to work in Meerut, India to pay off the debt of their parents. For years, companies have said that they have extensive monitoring programs to make sure child labor is not used in the production of soccer balls and yet in plain sight, children walk through Meerut every morning to deliver their finished balls to the local subcontractor and pick up the supplies for that day.
The report calls out for major U.S. sporting goods to be reconfirm their commitment to eradicate child labor from the production of their goods.
This time the commitment from the soccer ball industry must be more than a piece of paper and must include full transparency of their supply chains, fair pricing to their suppliers, and independent monitoring throughout the entire supply chain.
Recently, Puma made a step in the right direction by producing their first Fair Trade Certified soccer balls proving that a major sporting goods company can make produce their products under fair conditions. And everyday, companies like Fair Trade Sports are raising the bar by proving that a company can have a 100% Fair Trade supply chain, so its time for more companies to step up to the plate and make it a fair trade playing field.
[Photo: ILRF, FoulBall Campaign - Credit: BBA for Photography and Hanh Nguyen for Design]
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Author
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Zarah is the Operations Manager for the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store, a project of the international human rights organization, Global Exchange. Alongside her work with marginalized communities from all over the world to get their products into the international market, Zarah serves to educate and inform the public about a more just and sustainable trading system.
