Trade promotion and facilitation bodies, both in exporting and importing countries, can be tapped to support the efforts of the developing country exporters. (See the Index to Internet Sources on ITC's web site, at http://www.intracen.org/itc/infobase/infobase.htm for contact information.) Some of these organizations specifically focus on the carpet trade sector.
A series of norms and regulations are in force in the major export markets. The norms and regulations deal with product aspects as well as trade-related aspects. These considerations cover quality, health and safety; packaging, labelling and packaging waste; environmental considerations; and working conditions. Below are sample contact points for certification, inspection, market trends and import facilitation.
For more information contact María-Mercedes Sala, ITC Market Development Officer, at sala@intracen.org
European Union Ecolabel
Contact point for standards, certification and labelling of environmentally friendly production.
Commission of the European Communities, DG XI E-4, Rue de la Loi 200, BE-1049 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: 32-2 299 0344
Fax: 32-2 299 0113
E-mail: ecolabel@dg11.cec.be
Skal
An international inspection body for organic production methods, holder of the officially registered EKO ecolabel (for textile products made of environmentally sound cotton).
Stationsplein 3A 8001 CW Zwolle, Postbus: 384, NL-8000AJ Zwolle, The Netherlands
Tel.: 31-38 422 6866
Fax: 31-38 421 3063
E-mail: href="mailto:info@skal.com">info@skal.com
Internet:http://www.skal.com
International Colour Authority
Forecasts colours for residential and commercial carpeting and provides colour samples for analysis and inspiration.
Benjamin Dent and Co. Ltd., 23 Bloombury Sq., London WC1A 2PJ, United Kingdom
Tel.: 44-171 637 2211
Fax: 44-171 637 2248
E-mail: itbd@itbd.co.uk
Internet:http://www.itbd.co.uk
The Carpet and Rug Institute
P.O. Box 2048, Dalton GA, United States of America
Tel.: 1-706 278 3176
Fax: 1-706 278 8835
Internet: http://www.carpet-rug.com
Oriental Rug Importers Association
100 Park Plaza Drive
Secaucus, NJ 07094, United States of America
Tel.: 1-201 866 5054
Fax: 1-201 866 6169
E-mail: oria@oria.org
Internet: http://www.oria.org
RUGMARK
Rugmark is a non-profit organization which educates consumers about use of child labour in carpet production. It urges buyers only to purchase carpets that bear the official RUGMARK label. This label - featuring a smiling rug - demonstrates that every effort has been made to determine that the carpets have been produced using fairly-paid adult labour. Below are a number of RUGMARK national offices (in alphabetical order by country).
Selected National Offices
323 Chapel Street, 2nd Floor, Ottawa K1N 7Z2, Canada
Tel.: 1-613 563 9936
Fax: 1-613 237 5969
E-mail: ccameron@cyberus.net
c/o TRANSFAIR e.V.
Remigiusstr. 21, D-50937 Köln, Germany
Tel.: 49-221 941 1253
Fax: 49-221 9420 4050
E-mail: rugmark@transfair.org
Internet: http://www.rugmark.de
310 Tirath Singh Tower, New Delhi 110058, India
Tel.: 91-11 554 4410
Fax: 91-11 561 8591
E-mail: delhi.rugmark@axcess.net.in
108 Red House, Vindhyavasini College, Varanasi 221002, India
Tel.: 91-542 44657
Fax: 91-542 348706
42 rue du Kiem, 5337 Moutfort, Luxembourg
Tel. and fax: 352-35 6160
E-mail: mlauer@pt.lu
P.O. Box 3459, Kathmandu, Nepal, Tel./Fax: 977-1 434 253
E-mail: nv@csl.com.np
Landelijke India Werkgroep, Oudegracht 36, NL-3511 AP Utrecht, The Netherlands
Tel.: 31-30 232 1340
Fax: 31-30 232 2246
733, 15th Street N.W., Suite 920, Washington DC, United States
of America
Tel.: 1-202 347 4502 or 1-202 347 4100
Fax: 1-202 347 4885
E-mail:laborrights@igc.apc.org