By Pharis Harvey

This report details a situation analysis of children working in football stitching around Sialkot, Pakistan. The analysis (1) examined the reasons that children work and the probable impact of eradicating children's involvement and phasing out home-based production and (2) determined a baseline for monitoring changes in children's and families' well-being as a result of a social protection program. Section 1 of the report describes the program developed to phase out children's involvement in football stitching and the study's goals.

Learn about ILRF's current work on child labor here.

1996

As our jeep approaches the roadside shed in Mahotra, a village in northern Pakistan, I can see a dozen children and men stitching hexagonal leather pieces into Nike soccer balls. Twelve-year-old Tariq squats in front, having come out of the dank interior for air. At his feet are several white balls with the distinctive Nike swoosh that will soon be finding their way to stores and playing fields in the United States.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea and US retailer Wal-Mart was among several international companies criticized by a Norwegian group for what it deemed "unacceptable" working conditions at a Turkish supplier.

Home textile product supplier Menderes Tekstil had threatened and fired employees who showed interest in joining a union, said Framtiden i Våre Hender (The Future in Our Hands), which focuses on ethical and climate issues.