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 2019, 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 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 "Harness Market Power" 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. In 2019, GoodWeave continued to expand its Change the Pattern awareness campaign in partnership with its business, NGO and media partners. The campaign reached over 62 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 2019, Carpet Industry work resulted in 12 new import and retail companies joining around the world, bringing the total number licensed to 177 and resulting in 23% share of the total handmade rug market globally. For its new programs in apparel, fashion jewelry, and home textiles, GoodWeave added an additional 3 brand partners.”

“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 14,377 regular, surprise visits made this year to workshops, factories, and private homes in artisan and producer villages. In 2019 GoodWeave was one of only 23 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 2019 GoodWeave launched a newly strengthened International Generic Standard that applies across product categories from carpets to home textiles, apparel to fashion jewelry, as well as at various tiers of production from Tier One factories to home-based production. Under review were the three "certification principles" including no child labor, no forced or bonded labor, and conditions of work are documented and verifiable. The Standard also includes progress principles, including 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 2019, 247 children were removed from exploitative labor across all program categories including carpets, apparel, fashion jewelry, tea, and bricks. These children were provided with educational support and rehabilitation.”

“for all Workers: Addressing child labor effectively requires more than simply prohibiting the practice as a matter of law, policy, or standard. Beyond the programs GoodWeave implements directly, the organization also seeks to improve conditions for all workers, to build the capacity of other organizations and serve as a thought-leader and advocate to raise the bar for companies, governments and other supply chain actors, to tackle child labor and its root causes. In 2019 GoodWeave participated in numerous of high-level events and advocacy platforms to promote the importance of ending child labor and modern slavery through deep due diligence practices that include full supply chain mapping, application of strong human rights Standards, ensuring remedy to rights holders and addressing root causes. These included the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, the International Labor Organization Conference, the OECD Forum on Supply Chain Due Diligence and the German Government convened Textilbundis. In 2019 GoodWeave's Capacity Building Unit began the development of a series of training modules that will continue to support our work to partner with other supply chain actors to strengthen their capacity to stop child labor. In collaboration with Humanity United and Global Fairness Initiative we continued transferring our methodologies to the brick kilns sector in Nepal, where the rate of forced and child labor is staggering. Forty work sites participated in this Better Brick Nepal program, bringing 6,790 workers under protection with a special focus on helping to release these workers from debt bondage.”

“No change from the prior year.”