Natural stone

The extraction of natural stones such as sandstone, granite, and marble often occurs under poor labour conditions. In quarries in India, child labour is present, labourers are paid very low wages, are subject to forced labour due to debt, and labourers work in unsafe and unhealthy labour conditions. Arisa puts these major problems on the map and pushes them on the agenda of companies and the Dutch and European government, for example by researching natural stone quarrying.   

Many importers of Indian natural stone do not know which quarries their material originates from, let alone what the working conditions are like in those quarries. Even governments, such as municipalities in the Netherlands and other European countries that buy natural stones for public spaces often do not know about the labour conditions under which it is quarried. Because of the work of Arisa, some importers, buyers and municipalities involved in the TruStone Initiative have become aware of the issues prevalent in their natural stone supply chains.   

Initiative TruStone is a sector-wide collaboration focusing on improving labour conditions. The Initiative identifies risks, engages with suppliers in producing countries and formulates concrete plans to improve labour conditions. Within Initiative TruStone, Arisa is a source of information and facilitates contact between civil society organisations and trade unions from producing countries with Dutch and Flemish importers.