Description
Tainted Carpets: Slavery and Child Labor in India’s Hand-Made Carpet Sector is the largest single first-hand study of slavery and child labor conducted to date, and the largest single study of slavery and child labor in a commodity’s supply chain. Kara was the lead investigator and author of the report, which was released through the Harvard School of Public Health in January, 2014. Spanning hundreds of productions sites across nine states in northern India, the study found appalling working conditions endemic to India’s carpet sector, including estimated prevalence rates of 45% for forced labor, 28% for bonded labor, and 20% for child labor. Production sites of over 172 exporters of carpets from India were found to be tainted by these offences. These same exporters are directly linked to the sale of carpets at some of the largest retailers in the United States. The report makes concrete recommendations on how to improve the disturbing conditions that were found.