Paving supplier Marshalls is backing a United Nations campaign to end child labour in stone quarries in India.

The Elland-based company has pledged to donate £1 to UNICEF for every square metre of its ethically-sourced Fairstone paving range as part of a new three-year partnership with the organisation.

Marshalls and UNICEF UK are urging customers to stop and think about how the products they are choosing for their patio have been produced and opt for Fairstone products which will help play a part in transforming the lives of vulnerable children in India’s poorest stone quarrying communities in Rajasthan.

Marshalls is the UK’s leading manufacturer of hard landscaping materials and the only company in its sector to have a partnership with UNICEF. Since 2009, Marshalls has been leading the way in eliminating child labour from its Indian supply chain and this partnership is recognition of this work.

Marshalls director Chris Harrop said: “I could not be more proud of our partnership with UNICEF UK.

“Child labour is a persistent, unacceptable and complex global issue and despite many British consumers being more aware of the need to choose ethically-sourced products, I doubt that many people realise that an issue even exists when they are choosing Indian Sandstone for their garden makeover.”

“It is appalling that children, some as young as five or six, work in dangerous and terrifying conditions in quarries.”

David Bull, UNICEF UK’s executive director, said funds raised through the partnership with Marshalls would be used to transform the lives of children in India’s poorest stone quarrying communities.

He said: “We know that child labour exists in India’s quarrying sector and more widely across the country and around the world. With Marshalls’ support, we will be conducting research to understand the challenges facing children working in stone quarries and set strategies to address this.”

UNICEF UK raises funds and awareness to support UNICEF’s work to protect child rights worldwide, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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