The rugs will be sold at Australia's largest fair-trade and ethical festival Fair@Square, held in Fed Square in December, with all money going back to the Cambodian families - but not before they attempt to set a world record for the longest run of hand-woven recycled rugs in one area.
Carpets for Communities CEO Rowan Klaassen says they came up with the concept of encouraging mothers to make rugs, because it's the mothers who re-invest the money back into their families, rather than spending it on alcohol, cigarettes or gambling.
"Our founder was seeing young girls walking the streets trying to earn money and wanted to find out the reason why they couldn't attend school and had to resort to this life where human trafficking is common."
He took the girls back to their families and discovered they simply had no work and no money for food and clothing, and the best way to change this was by ensuring work for their mothers.
Seven years on and Klassen says the initiative now supports some 34 families, all who have their own businesses.
"We've gone from encouraging them to make rugs, to now one mother has set up her own jewellery business and gone from living in a straw hut with plastic walls to being able to buy land and build her family a house."
The initiative has grown to such an extent that it now has a scholarship programme- with one student even working in his holidays on a large commercial building as an electrical engineer.
"This is a kid who is so clever he invented a machine to make the carpet rolling process more easy for his mother out of tin cans and scrap metal, and he's now studying to be an electrical engineer."
Susanna Bevilacqua, a Melbourne banker who started Fair@Square four years ago out of determination to make the world a better place, says this is the perfect example of why fair trade is so important.
"It's not just about doing what's right by the environment, this is about changing lives. By buying products like this, you are genuinely contributing to ensuring everyone has the same opportunities we do here in Australia - a roof over your head, food and a decent education."
In a true reflection of its commitment to fair-trade, Fair@Square has also this year partnered with RMIT school of textiles where students are making cushions out of fair-trade accredited cotton, which will also be sold at Fair@Square 2012, with all the funds used as micro-finance loans to help families in Cambodia start their own business.
"These students know that each cushion could potentially help one family start up a business and lead to a much better life for them, and their children. It's as simple as that."
She says while still in its infancy, Fair@Square is proud to be able to support such worthy projects, which truly reflect the core of what the event is all about.
"When we started we attracted just 20,000 people, and last year those numbers grew to more than 79,000. It's proof people are becoming more discerning about the footprint behind what they purchase and realise they can make change."
The business sector is taking notice too.
Fair@Square has this year managed to secure backing from some of Australia's most renowned brands - Oxfam, Bendigo Bank and EcoStore, and more than 80 other businesses, which will be showcasing their fair trade products.
The hand-woven rugs, cushions and students who made the fair trade cushions will be at the River Terrace on Fed Square from 10.30am to midday on Friday 26th October and the products will all be sold at Fair@Square in Fed Square on 1st and 2nd December.
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