Speaking out against child labour: Marshalls has accused landscapers of complicity in an unethical trade in sandstone, writes Matthew Appleby

摘要

Marshalls has gone on the offensive in its bid to promote its business through what is believed to be a ￡1 m-plus sponsorship of the Chelsea flower show. The West Yorkshire hard landscaping supplier is touting its refusal to use child labour to quarry its Indian sandstone. It is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), an alliance of companies, unions and non-profit organisations that aims to promote the rights of workers worldwide, including not allowing child or forced labour, long working hours, poor pay and union bans. A recent report on sandstone quarrying in Budhpura, From Quarry to Graveyard, described how at some Indian quarries, 20 per cent of the workforce is made up of child labour, with children as young as 10 performing dangerous tasks. They can work 14 hours a day for just 20p.