Old friend re-emerges as Changespace – Paragon Carpets interest piece
Paragon Carpets are pleased to announce the co-operative with Changespace fronted by long time Paragon friend Mat Lightbown who had been with Paragon Carpets for over 10 years.
At ChangeSpace, we’re specialists in creating beautiful handmade rugs, each individually crafted to the highest possible standards.
With over 20 years’ experience, we are passionate about what we do, and we support and work alongside specially selected weavers and craftsmen from around the world. We apply this passion and in-depth knowledge every day to deliver a unique, personalised service to our clients.
It’s this level of service and our obsessive attention to detail which makes us tick. We work intimately with our clients through each stage of the design process to ensure every rug meets our own exacting standards. And being independent means we’re ultimately flexible to ensure every client’s brief is met – regardless of how exacting their specification is.
The result is a unique, individual hand-crafted rug that is guaranteed to last for generations, and dramatically change the space in which it resides.
Changespace are also members of GoodWeave
The handmade carpet industry exploits nearly 250,000 children. GoodWeave is helping to combat this problem and transform the rug industry by certifying child-labor-free rugs and by providing education and opportunities to rescued and at-risk children. The GoodWeave certification is implemented by Good Weave International.
Manufacturers must meet our high certification standards and agree to random, independent inspections to earn the GoodWeave label.
GoodWeave has freed nearly 3,600 children from weaving looms. Rescued and at-risk children are offered rehabilitation, daycare, literacy programs, formal schooling and vocational training.
The GoodWeave label is the best assurance that no child labour was used in the making of your rug. In order to earn the GoodWeave label, rug exporters and importers must be licensed under the GoodWeave certification program and sign a legally binding contract to adhere to GoodWeave’s no-child-labour standard; allow unannounced random inspections by local inspectors; and pay a licensing fee that helps support GoodWeave’s monitoring, inspections and education programs.
To ensure compliance, independent GoodWeave inspectors make unannounced inspections of each loom. If inspectors find children working, they offer them the opportunity to go to school instead. Producers who do not adhere to the standard lose their status with GoodWeave. To protect against counterfeit labeling, each label is numbered so its origin can be traced.
GoodWeave also sets contractual requirements for companies that import certified rugs. Importers agree to source only from GoodWeave certified exporters in India, Nepal, Afghanistan and any other country in which GoodWeave rugs are available. In North America, Europe and other rug-importing countries, only licensed importers are legally permitted to sell carpets carrying the GoodWeave label.
Importers and exporters also help support GoodWeave and its commitment to provide rehabilitation and schooling for all rescued children. Exporters pay 0.25 percent of the export value of each rug, and importers pay a licensing fee of 1.75 percent of the shipment value. Licensing fees go toward monitoring, inspections and educational programs that are part of the GoodWeave program.
GoodWeave’s certification standards are set by GoodWeave International (GWI), a full member of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling (ISEAL) Alliance, which leads the world in setting norms and good practices for certification. GoodWeave’s national offices in producer countries implement and enforce the standards.
So when you purchase a Changespace rug or carpet you and your clients can be assured our rugs have been sourced and manufactured ethically and that our partner weavers adhere to the codes of practice set out by GoodWeave.
for further information about Changespace view their website at www.changespace.co
or click the direct link below.
