Behind Door Number Three

A recent report by the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) and Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) in India reveals that extensive child labor is being employed in two villages in India to produce soccer balls for use in the United States.  You may recall the "Foul Ball campaign" of the 1990's that uncovered similar child labor abuses in Pakistan.

In the Indian villages of Jalandhar and Meerut, as many as ten companies are staffed by workers in these two villages to produce soccer balls in the United States.  This issue has recently surfaced in the mainstream media during a September 2008 HBO "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" segment (see video link below) that describes child laborers holding soccer balls between their knees and using sharp needles to stitch the panels together, some panels marked as "Child Free Labor."

In both villages, children often work 10-15 hour days for pennies a day, and sometimes no pay at all.  The report reveals that the children's hands are marked with cuts and gashes, in addition to poor work conditions that resuls in severe back pain.  As the ILRF press release notes: "When asked their dreams for the future, children voiced their desires to go to school or even to get to play with the soccer balls they spend hours stitching."

What can you do?!  Don't support corporations employing child labor.  The organizations cite many of the companies employing child labor and here is a partial list: 

• Mitre
• Regent Sports Corporation (imports Mitre balls to the U.S.) 
• Beltona   

The ILRF call to action says it all:

The major U.S. sporting goods companies need to be held responsible for human rights violations in the production of their goods.  It is essential for the soccer ball industry to again reconfirm its commitment to eradicate child labor from its production.  This time the commitment from the soccer ball industry must be more than a piece of paper and must include full transparency of its supply chains, fair pricing to their suppliers, and independent monitoring throughout the entire supply chain.