Lapchi Tibetan Looms Joins Rugmark’s Program To Move South Asian Children From Carpet Looms To Classrooms

Furniture World Magazine

Lapchi Tibetan Looms of Portland, Oregon recently joined other North American carpet importers to help move children from carpet looms to classrooms in Nepal, India and Pakistan by joining RUGMARK Foundation. When Lapchi Tibetan Looms launched a new carpet business earlier this year, co-founders Kerry Smith and Salman Khan quickly aligned themselves with RUGMARK. "We admired the integrity and success RUGMARK has had and we felt that they had the best solution to the problem [of child labor]," says Smith who runs the company’s U.S. operations. ‘Lapchi’, loosely translated, means ‘creative energy’, which is what got Lapchi started. According to Smith it’s this very energy that is attracting customers across North America. "We prefer to work with highly energized customers, regardless of size, rather than simply try to find the biggest volume showroom in the market." After many years of traveling to Nepal the creative possibilities for designing and selling handmade decorative rugs became a reality for Smith and Khan. Three years ago Khan, who manages design and production, began building a reputable rug collection with partners in Nepal. This took nearly two-and-a-half years and culminated with the launching of the Lapchi 2002 Textile Collection in January at the Atlanta International Area Rug Show. When it comes to making a great carpet there simply are no shortcuts for Lapchi. They begin with the best wool and silk in the world. The wool is hand washed, hand carded and hand spun for maximum yarn strength. Small lot dyeing, hand knotting, washing and finishing complete a process that requires a year or more of labor. Yet it’s not this amazing process that sets Lapchi handmade carpets apart from others. The distinctive factors are the designs and colors representing the Lapchi aesthetic vision. For Lapchi, carpet making is an art form. From the beginning, Lapchi staff was concerned about the issues surrounding children in Nepal. Joining RUGMARK would enable them to help to educate consumers on the issues. "Nobody would willingly display a carpet in their home that was made by child labor," says Smith. "By joining RUGMARK we can help to educate consumers about the issues. I am confident that once they are informed they will make the right decisions." South Asian carpets that are destined for export to the United States and Europe come from a handmade carpet industry that is rampant with illegal child labor. In 1998, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that there were up to one million children weaving carpets in Pakistan, Nepal, and India. Since then, RUGMARK’s efforts have helped significantly in removing children from the carpet weaving industry. In Nepal, for example, a recent UNICEF study revealed that the incidence of child labor in the carpet industry has dropped from 11 percent to three percent of the workforce. "RUGMARK is improving the child labor situation," says Nina Smith, Executive Director of RUGMARK. "We are able to do this and educate children because companies like Lapchi Tibetan Looms are committed to operating responsibly." To accomplish its mission, RUGMARK inspects looms in India, Nepal, and Pakistan and certifies carpets as child labor-free. Since its inception in 1995, RUGMARK has freed more than 2,000 child weavers and now provides schooling or rehabilitation for more than 1,800 former child weavers. "We at Lapchi are very fortunate to be doing what we are doing: creating and selling objects of great beauty and functionality," explains Smith. "We hope to use our business success to help bring about positive change in Nepal and to offer a unique collection of high-quality carpets to our customers." More information about Lapchi Tibetan Looms by calling toll-free 866.619.9779 or by emailing lapchi@lapchi.com. To learn more about RUGMARK Foundation interested individuals can visit www.rugmark.org or call 1.866.RUGMARK.