In the build up to the 1998 world cup in France, studies by groups such as Save the Children and Oxfam bought attention to the fact that children were heavily involved in the stitching of footballs. They were favoured over adults not only because they were cheaper and less likely to cause disputes, but because their smaller hands and better eye-sight made them more suited to the task.
However, by simply banning children from working many problems were compounded, demonstrating how developing Fairtrade relations can be a complex process. After children were banned from working in football production in regional Pakistan (where Etiko sources its sports balls), many sought work in other industries, which was an unfortunate consequence because the next largest employer in the region is the surgical instruments industry…the dangers associated with this type of work for young children do not require explanation.
Several challenges were posed when developing Fairtrade sports balls. Initially child labour had to be stopped while preventing children from seeking work in other areas. Another challenge was to maintain the right of women to work. In a strictly Islamic society, football stitching is one of the few jobs readily available to women as it can be done from the home. Further to this, to gain official Fairtrade status a product must also provide benefits to the wider community. All of these criteria were met by the producers of Etiko sports balls.
The answer to the problem of child labour is surprisingly simple: pay workers properly! If parents of several children are forced to work for wages that are so low they cannot support their families, then clearly children will be encouraged to work to bolster the family income. The producers of Etiko sports balls pay their stitchers a proper wage that is sufficient for them to support their families. No parent would make their children work if they did not have to. The producers of Etiko sports balls were one of the first three enterprises in the world to receive the International Labour Organisation accolade:“Without Child Labour”.
In addition to decent wages, all workers receive free medical care that is funded by Fairtrade premiums. For example all pregnant women have their hospital expenses paid for.
The Fairtrade premium (on average 25% above regular purchasing prices) also provides funds for a micro credit scheme that the stitchers have access to. As all Fairtrade balls are exported, workers are reliant on foreign demand. The credit scheme limits the potentially harmful impacts of such dependency by helping to strengthen the local economy and reduce reliance on the football industry. The credit scheme also helps pay for essential village infrastructure such as irrigation projects and small shops; and provides a fund for the provision of school books.
As a Fairtrade registered producer, our work centres are subject to regular external and independent checks to ensure the maintenance of safe and healthy working conditions. The work centres are also designed to be small enough so that the work remains in villages.
Despite all the benefits described above, this has not had an adverse effect on the price of Etiko Sports balls. Like the majority of Fairtrade products, middle-men are eliminated in the process of importing the product making a Fairtrade football competitively priced with others on the market.
In addition to featuring the Fairtrade logo, which guarantees compliance with standards set down by the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation, Etiko Sport’s soccer balls also come with the IMS seal (International Matchball Standard). This ensures that the quality of these balls is so high that they meet the standards required for national and international football matches.
Meet Zulafkar Ali and his younger brother Saftaz Ahmad. Both stitch footballs, both are married. Zulafkar, who is 36, has three boys aged 15, 13 and 11, and one girl aged nine. Saftaz has two sons, two years and six months old.
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