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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, about twice monthly, inspect the production facilities. These monitors 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.

Image source: Smyl on Flickr (Creative Commons license)