In 1996 Reebok International initiated
factory monitoring, product labeling and education programs to prevent
the use of child labor in the manufacture of their Pakistani-made
soccer balls.
A large majority of the world's quality soccer balls have been made in
Pakistan. Panels are cut in factories and transported to villages and
area stitching centers. Often children are involved in this work.
As a corporation committed to human rights, Reebok developed an
innovative program to guarantee that their soccer balls are not made by
children. First, Reebok contained all production, including stitching,
in a state-of-the-art Pakistani soccer ball manufacturing facility. All
work is performed on-site and is free of child labor.
To verify that children are not working on the production process both
inside and outside the factory, Reebok relies on the services of local
human rights monitors who regularly inspect the factory. Monitors
inspect the production facilities twice per month where they interview
workers and supervise inspectors who oversee the shipments of panels in
and out of the factories. They also maintain ties with the local
community and visit surrounding villages to confirm that no Reebok
balls are stitched outside the factories. As a result of these efforts,
Reebok can now offer soccer balls labeled 'Guaranteed: Manufactured
Without Child Labor.'
In 1997, Reebok created the Reebok Educational Assistance to Pakistan
program (R.E.A.P.) and allocated $US1 million from the sales of these
balls to support local educational opportunities in Sialkot, Pakistan,
the region where the balls are manufactured. In addition, Reebok joined
with the Society for Advancement of Education in Sialkot to establish
the Chaanan Institute in 1997, which works with families in the area to
place children in schools and keep them out of the labor pool.
Reebok also sponsored a resolution before the Soccer Industry Council
of America (SICA) in 1995 to investigate the use of child labor in the
industry. This resulted in an industry collaboration that involved the
International Labor Organization, Save the Children, the United Nations
International Children's Fund and the Chamber of Commerce of Sialkot,
working together to prevent child labor.
Concentrating production of soccer balls in monitored facilities to prevent child labor
