by Shannon Rentner, Contributing Writer
This Labor Day, as we honor the labor movement as well as the social and economic achievements of American workers, we also want to pay tribute to the laborers in Pakistan that help produce our Fair Trade certified line of sports’ balls.
Eight million homes and livelihoods have been destroyed by flooding in Pakistan, a natural disaster affecting more people than the Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the Haiti earthquake put together, according to Oxfam. Fair Trade Certified producer Imran Kahn and his immediate family may not be counted among the 8 million, they are scrambling to help affected extended family and friends.
Imran Kahn dropped out of fifth grade at the age of ten to work in a rubber processing factory. At the time, child labor was quite common in the Sialkot area of Pakistan due to overwhelming poverty. Fifteen years later, Imran now makes Fair Trade Certified wages as a producer in Sialkot, Pakistan.
Imran lives near the Sialkot district in Pakistan - the principal global source of hand-stitched sports balls – supplying more than 70 percent of the global demand. Historically, sport ball manufactures have been criticized for low wages, substandard working conditions and illegal employment of children – forced into labor because the adult wages were too low to support the family. Today there are six Fair Trade Certified sports ball producers in the area.
Imran is proof that Fair Trade Certification is playing an important role in the battle against child labor by ensuring that adults can receive Fair Trade Certified wages. In a country with an estimated 30 percent of the population living below the poverty line and where agriculture remains the largest industry, Imran and his father, who works in a tire repair shop, have been empowered to provide for their family of 10. Even though Imran and his family do not own land yet, they do have access to many of the Vision’s Fair Trade benefits, including discount healthcare, transportation and shopping.
As a result of a visit to an eye camp, organized by Vision’s Fair Trade committee, Imran’s youngest sister Nadia, the 10-year-old pictured here, is still in school and received free medicine for a serious eye infection.
By using the Vision bus for his commute to work, Imran saves a significant amount of his earnings per month. In addition, Imran saves at least 3 percent on the family grocery bill by visiting the “Fair Price Shop”, a significant savings for a family of ten on an extremely tight budget. 
Imran’s story is not an isolated case. Fair Trade has a positive ripple effect. It began with Imran, but the benefits extended to his family, and ultimately, to his entire community. For Fair Trade to continue to improve the lives of producers, Fair Trade sales need to continue to increase.
Help spread the word. Share Imran’s story. Pursue quality with Fair Trade Certified sports equipment. Show RESPECT. And don’t forget to support Pakistan relief efforts.
