Who are Ikea?

IKEA is a global home furnishings company headquartered in Sweden.

What is the commitment?

IKEA has developed a comprehensive approach to preventing child labour in its supply chain. Suppliers are supported in implementing a corrective action plan if child labour is identified, which should take the child’s best interests into consideration. This includes age, family and social situation and level of education. The action plan emphasizes that responses should not merely move child labour from one supplier’s workplace to another, they should instead enable more viable and sustainable alternatives for the children involved.

What was done?

Since 2000, the company has developed long-term partnerships with child rights organizations to prevent and eliminate child labour in rural communities. These programmes include creating awareness and mobilizing local communities around school enrolment and improved quality education with a goal for both boys and girls to complete their schooling.

Another important component of the programme is developing self-help groups for rural women, which enable them to enhance their economic, social and legal status by improving access to credit and income-generating opportunities. This helps to reduce the burden of debt, which is one of the major reasons families send their children to work.