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Thousands of children in India and Pakistan are involved in the production
of sports balls and are forced into labor to help their families
survive. The average daily earning for an adult is approx. 50 cents-$1/day, while children are paid even less. Under Fair Trade pricing, the
wages are set at approx. $2/day, which with an combined income of two wage earners of
$4/day is considered a fair living wage to cover all basic living expenses
for a family. There is an additional fair trade premium of 10% paid,
which is used for the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the
workers, e.g. providing basic health care to the workers or providing
micro-credit loans. The mentioned earning levels even with fair
trade living wages, very well
illustrate the global income and social disparities which currently exist in
the world.
Please note that we no longer carry fair trade
items. We are greatly sorry for the inconvenience. A reference page
containing links to all your favorite fair trade products will be
available soon.
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Quantities can be specified in
shopping cart, after adding item.
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Indoor/Outdoor Basketball, $19.95
Rubber composite material. Standard orange
color. Size 7.
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Beach/Outdoor
Volleyball,
$19.95
Outdoor Volleyball for the backyard, park and
beach. Outer material is made with L-150 Foamy material and butyl
bladder. It is the same size as regular volleyball weighing
280-300g. Yellow, blue and orange colors are used.
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Indoor
Pro Volleyball, $21.95
Professional
quality. Outer material is Cordley Jet with 2 linings of
polyester, circumference 64-65 cm and weight 280-300g
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Team
Soccer Ball $17.95
Team/School quality. Sizes 3 and 4 for
children up to 12 years of age. Size 5 for teens. Contains a
butyl bladder.
Size 3
Size 4
Size 5
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Match
Play Soccer Ball, $21.95
For
teen games and adult practice. Uses a butyl bladder and
valve. Outer material is local PU Printed Shine with 4 polyester
linings and a weight of 420-440g.
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Indoor
Soccer Ball, $26.95
Outer material of
Japanese Cordley Felt Yellow and 4 polyester linings, latex
balance bladder and butyl valve. Weight is 410-430g. Size 5 for teens.
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Premier
Soccer Ball A, $34.95
For adult games and tournaments. Uses a butyl
bladder. Outer material is Japanese Cordley Shine with 4 polyester
linings (4), circumference 69-70 cm and weight 430-445 g.
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Pro
Quality Soccer Ball A+, $38.95
Top
quality adult soccer ball. Uses a
butyl bladder. Outer material is Austrian PU Shine with air
mattress and 3 polyester linings, circumference 69-70 cm and
weight 430-445g.
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Rugby
Ball, $21.95
Smooth
outer material is L-150 Kid with 4 polyester linings and a latex
balance bladder. Best for dry conditions.
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Rugby
Ball Rubberized Cover, $24.95
Rough rubberized outer material for wet
conditions and better grip.
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| Fair Trade Price:
Approx. 70 cents a ball (assuming 3 balls stitched/worker in
a day). Non Fair Trade price would be approx. 35 cents/ball. |
Producer - Talon Sports, Pakistan
Pakistan supplies approximately 70% of the world's soccer balls with
an estimated 44,000 men and women stitchers in the
Sialkot region of Pakistan involved in the production of 35 million
footballs every year. The industry has been criticized for low pay, poor
working conditions and the widespread illegal employment of children who are
forced into work because adult wages are often
too low to support a family. Children are denied the right to be
children and denied basic rights of education, recreation and health. The
International Labor Organization estimates there are more than 15,000
children stitching soccer balls in Pakistan.
Factory workers produce the internal bladders
and also laminate, cut and print the 32 panels that make up each football.
The sets are then delivered to dozens of small stitching centers in villages
around Sialkot. The balls are stitched together then returned to the factory
for washing, quality control and packing. The stitching centers employ up to
15 workers who stitch a maximum of three balls a day, each one requiring
around 650 stitches. For the higher-quality balls, each stitch has to be pulled
and tied at a tension of 40 kilograms.
Over 50 international soccer ball brands rely on Sialkot to meet their
customer demand. And, even though in the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce entered into an
agreement with the International Labor Organization and UNICEF for the
elimination of child labor from the soccer ball industry, the international
soccer brands do not pay the extra amount for fair trade sports balls and
continue to work and support manufactures who pay below minimum living wages
to their workers.
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