Not only is she a Minnesota girl, Stephanie Odegard runs a international rug/carpet and home accessories company that’s a successful business model and supports international development.  The result is ethical, beautiful, contemporary rugs and household furnishings that support the regions from which they come.

As this New York Times article states:  “Ms. Odegard started her company as a way to prove an economic theory. After years in the third world, she was convinced that the best way to raise the standard of living was to produce high-end crafts.”

Odegard Inc is an early member and major contributor to Rugmark, and Stephanie is a Director of the Rugmark Foundation.

Odegard carpets are available in nine showrooms, including one in London.

RugMark International, the amazing program that gets children out of weaving rugs and into schools in India and Nepal, is changing their certification program.  The RugMark label will be replaced by the new GoodWeave label. 

In addition to assuring that no child under 14 was involved in the production of the rug or carpet, and supporting their rehabilitation and education, according to their website, the new label “will, in time, represent an enhanced set of values that places the RugMark mission in a broader context of environmental and social responsibility.”  They don’t give any more details, but it sounds very promising.