RugMark USA Launches 8th Annual Rug Raffle
November 3, 2009Rugmark USA, the certification body for ethical carpet production that recently rebranded its product labeling program as "GoodWeave," has launched its eighth annual rug raffle.
The raffle offers entrants for as little as $25 the chance to win a luxurious handmade rug, designed and donated by New York-based Warp & Weft and certified child-labor-free by GoodWeave. Proceeds help support RugMark's GoodWeave certification program, which works to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry and to offer educational opportunities to children in South Asia.
The 8' x 10' rug being raffled, Riviera Caramel, has a retail value of $10,800. Riviera Caramel is part of Warp & Weft's Modern & Custom Collection, designed by owner Michael Mandapati. Hand-woven in Nepal and made from pure Tibetan wool and Indian mulberry silk, the design echoes differing images from nature, from topographical maps to tree bark. For more information, on this and the company’s other designs, visit www.warpandweft.com.
As GoodWeave's newest industry partner, Mandapati realizes the difference companies working together can make.
"With strong child labor laws and with the help of GoodWeave we can make a difference by making it difficult and unprofitable for the practice to continue," he said.
Every ticket sold helps bring GoodWeave and its nearly 70 importer/designer members one step closer to ending child labor in the handmade rug industry. Raffle tickets are $25 each, five for $100 or 12 for $200. The drawing will take place on Dec. 10, and the winner will be notified the following day. Individuals may purchase tickets at www.goodweave.org/raffle.
