ERADICATING CHILD LABOR
IN SOCCER BALL PRODUCTION
In soccer ball production, we created a program to guarantee that no underage workers are used. When we entered into the global soccer ball market in 1995, we discovered that children were being used in stitching centers in the Sialkot region of Pakistan. Typically, the ball panels were cut in factories and then transported to villages to be stitched. When we learned that as many as 20% of the stitchers were children, we quickly took action. We initiated an industry effort that resulted in a collaboration between the International Labor Organization, Save the Children, the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and UNICEF and then insisted that our supplier build a soccer ball manufacturing facility that centralized all production, including stitching, in one site. Since then, tens of thousands of soccer balls have been produced that proudly bear the label “Guaranteed: Manufactured Without Child Labor.”

Now we are placing some of our soccer ball production in China. We have started a project to guarantee that the soccer balls produced there are also manufactured without underage child labor.

The project will involve Reebok, our soccer ball supplier factories in China and their workers. It aims to make sure that no one under the age of 16 (the legal minimum working age in China) is hired or employed in the manufacturing of Reebok soccer balls.

Over the course of the project, our production staff will spot-check the effectiveness of factory human resources systems every month. They will report to our human rights staff on improvements made and potential risks. We’ve also hired the independent consultancy, Fairland, to assess factory systems addressing child labor and unauthorized subcontracting (where child workers might be used). Fairland will conduct unannounced audits every three months. They will also respond to worker reports of underage labor. Inspections are a vital short-term measure to uncover any instances of child labor as well as the systems that allow it to happen. The project also aims to build capacity in the factories and put systems in place that will sustain workplaces free from child labor.

For centuries, business at all levels has sought cheap and easy labor and raw materials. Business has exploited the poverty, ignorance and powerlessness of disadvantaged sections of society to create a huge, low cost child labor force. In many countries, besides agriculture, construction and domestic service industries, young girls and boys are engaged in the production of a large number of consumer goods, including sporting goods. Although employment of children of young ages, especially with regard to hazardous industries and long working hours, is prohibited by most countries, as well as by international laws, the practice continues primarily due to three major deficits:

• Political deficit—Lack of political will to enforce laws and to allocate resources to combat child labor and to ensure good quality education for all as an alternative.

• Socio-cultural deficit—This includes anti-childhood traditions, conventions of lack of concern and social apathy.

• Economic deficit—This is caused by huge earning gaps, sub-regional development gaps, geo-political injustice, poverty and powerlessness of many countries.

Until about two decades ago, the economic exploitation of children was a non-issue and phrases like ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR), ‘social audit of business’ and ‘ethical trade practices’ were almost non-existent. Only a few years ago, there was rampant exploitation of bonded and child labor in the production of sporting goods, especially in India and Pakistan.

This prompted my organization, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (or Save the Childhood Movement)

to collaborate with other like-minded NGOs in a media campaign to raise awareness of the plight of these children. The campaign targeted high profile events like the Football World Cup. Since then, some business sectors, including the sporting goods industry, have taken steps to try and institutionalize good practices. A number of big companies, local industry and organizations like FIFA have evolved codes of conduct and have initiated internal control systems to combat child labor. They have also collaborated in independent monitoring and certification programs with the International Labor Organization (ILO), UNICEF, NGOs and Chambers of Commerce. Educational programs providing alternatives for children, increased community consciousness and regular monitoring in production units have been established. Unfortunately, some small-time businesses have found loopholes and continue to exploit children.

The myth that children can produce better quality goods has been exploded and it’s clear that no industry can flourish in the long term by using children as cheap labor. Pressure from consumers and the media, combined with an increased social consciousness in businesses, are all helping to make industry child labor free. Another important development is that approximately 154 countries have ratified the ILO convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor and approximately 130 countries have ratified the ILO convention 138 on minimum age. These two conventions, reflecting the core principles of the ILO, are emerging as the key criterion for business on this issue. The fast growing demands for free and good quality education for all children, reflected by the Dakar Framework for Action on Education For All (EFA), is also a promising development. These important developments give us reason for optimism about making business, and eventually the whole world, child labor free.

For more information see: www.globalmarch.org or www.campaignforeducation.org.