Goodweave International

“The Audit/Finance Committee of the organization reviews the form 990 prior to filing. Once reviewed by this committee, the return is signed by the President and filed. Prior to filing the return, a copy of the return as it will be filed is provided to each Board member electronically.”

“The Conflict of Interest Policy is contained in the organization's bylaws and requires annual certification by Board members, including the disclosure of any actual or potential conflicts of interest. The Board of Directors and management monitor this process and, in general, no business transactions (purchase of goods or services, loans, etc.) with Board members or their employers are permitted other than the normal transactions between a nonprofit and its Board members such as contributions and payment of program service revenue to the organization for participation in various programs.”

“The compensation of the President is established by the Board of Directors, who are independent of the President. The compensation level for the President is established by the Board of Directors based on knowledge of current salary levels for executives of similar organizations, performance of the President, and budgetary constraints. As a result, the salary levels trend towards amounts lower than current market levels in the Washington, DC metropolitan area might indicate. Notification of any change in the President's salary is made to the organization's third party accountant by an officer of the Board of Directors. Board officers are not compensated in their role as officers or Board members. In 2017, no employee met the definition of a key employee as provided in the instructions to the form 990.”

“GoodWeave makes available to the public all documents required under current Internal Revenue Service Treasury Regulations.”

“Governing documents such as Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, internal policy documents, and audited and unaudited financial statements would be made available on a case by case basis to individuals or organizations which have an interest in those documents at the discretion of the organization's Board of Directors and management.”

“GoodWeave's vision is a world free of child labor, where all children have the freedom to laugh, learn, and play. Children have the right to go to school and not to work, holding pencils and not tools. This can be achieved by leveraging the marketplace-first for rugs and then transferring and scaling the system for other industries plagued by labor abuses. In doing so, GoodWeave demonstrates how to ensure human freedom in any manufacturing supply chain. GoodWeave believes that if enough people choose one product over another because it was made without child labor, then retailers, importers and exporters will demand child-labor-free goods from their manufacturers. This in turn will create momentum and critical mass in the market, leading to the end of child labor. GoodWeave employs a demand driven model. By establishing partnerships with brands and retailers, and increasing consumer preference for certified products, the organization is able to inspect more supply chains and protect more children. Efforts within the "Leverage Market Influence" category include building corporate partnerships and consumer awareness activities aimed at increasing market penetration in Europe and North America and adoption of child-labor-free products. GoodWeave believes transparency connects companies to the fates of workers, children, and communities In 2017, GoodWeave continued to expand its Beautiful Rug, Beautiful Story awareness campaign in partnership with its business, NGO and media partners. To date, the campaign reached over 185 million people, through editorial outreach, public service advertising, social media, point-of-sale educational materials, special events, website marketing and other targeted outreach. GoodWeave inspects the production supply chains of participating manufacturers and importers. To be certified and thus eligible to display the GoodWeave label, manufactures sign a legally binding agreement to: (1) Produce products free from child labor and forced and bonded labor; (2) Register all production sites with GoodWeave and allow random, surprise inspections; and (3) pay license fees that support child rescue, rehabilitation and education in India, Nepal and Afghanistan. In 2017, Carpet Industry work resulted in 24 new companies joining around the world, bringing the total number licensed to 150 and resulting and over 18% share of the total handmade rug market globally. This growth trajectory demonstrates that consumer awareness and business engagement efforts are effective and that certification provides participating companies with a marketplace advantage. Expenses associated with Leveraging Market Share include, but are not limited to: media outreach; advertising; point of sale material creation; website development; travel, tradeshow participation and events, as well as the salaries of communications and business development staff in North America and Europe. The work is funded through grants, donations, and a portion of license fees collected from participating companies - or "licensees".”

“Every single child found is offered rehabilitation, counseling services, schooling, and other critical services. In addition - and this is the most powerful point of impact - approximately 50,000 children were prevented from ever being exploited because of the 9,600 regular, surprise visits made this year to workshops, factories, and private homes in artisan and producer villages. In 2017 GoodWeave was one of only 21 full members of the ISEAL Alliance, the global association for sustainability standards. ISEAL membership requires GoodWeave to obtain third-party accreditation and evaluation of its certification system to ensure the organization is independent of external pressure, is transparent in its certification process, demonstrates proper quality control and confidentiality systems, and treats all producers equally. Standard Setting GoodWeave's certification Standard addresses the contributing factors to child labor. In 2017 the GoodWeave Standards Committee continued to review and refine criteria for compliance. Three "certification principles" include no child labor, no forced or bonded labor, and conditions of work are documented and verifiable. Progress principles include freedom of association and collective bargaining are recognized; no discrimination is practiced; working conditions are respected, including workplace safety and health, wages, working hours, and disciplinary practices; and negative environmental impacts of production are identified and minimized.”

“GoodWeave removes children from slave-like conditions, reunites them with their families when possible, and offers them a home when not. Rehabilitation can take years and includes psychological counseling in addition to health care and education. Rescued children are supported until grade 10 or age 18, whichever comes first. In 2017, 216 children were removed from carpet looms and provided with educational support and rehabilitation. Other programs work to prevent child labor at its source, with a goal of reaching a child in her home village before she ever comes face-to-face with an inspector in a factory. Child-friendly communities, early childhood education, and other forms of educational support for at-risk children are examples of GoodWeave social programs that interrupt the cycle of illiteracy and exploitation even earlier. Expenses for these programs include sub-grants to schooling programs that cover teacher salaries, tuition, school uniforms, family support, etc. The majority of funds were generated by license fees with additional support from private foundations and individuals.”

“In 2016 GoodWeave launched Sourcing Freedom which continued throughout 2017. The initiative is an expansion program with five new sector programs under piloting, including in home textiles, apparel, fashion jewelry, brick-making and tea. Thus far GoodWeave has helped to reduce child labor in the South Asian rug sector from one million to approximately 200,000, and now aims to reach the 152 million children still trapped in all types of exploitation around the world. Sourcing Freedom pilots are building an evidence-driven scaling effort that demonstrates the applicability of the GWS to identify and safeguard the full supply chain (not just within factories), and that its value outweighs its cost. Long-term the vision is to establish new business norms and achieve societal shifts that result in the "undoing" of the core factors that lead to child slavery. Beginning in 2016 and continuing through 2017, GoodWeave worked in collaboration with Humanity United and Global Fairness Initiative to bring our methodology to brick kilns in Nepal, where the rate of forced and child labor is staggering. More than double the number of worksites from the previous year, 16 sites participated in this Better Brick Nepal program, bringing 7,413 workers under protection. To achieve this, GoodWeave finalized and implemented the certification standard for bricks covering no child labor, no forced or bonded labor and improved working conditions. All of GoodWeave's work being implemented in new industries was funded by private and corporate foundations in 2017.”

“Contracted services: Program service expenses 563,506. Management and general expenses 32,219. Fundraising expenses 1,355. Total expenses 597,080.”

“No change from the prior year.”