Sweatshops are dangerous working factories where workers are reimbursed scantly for their difficult labor. Workers receive few rights and they rarely have options to change their situations. Sweatshops are found in Export Processing Zones (EPZ) within third world countries. The typical sweatshop worker is a young woman without any opportunity for education and who is prone to sexual abuse from her employer.
The first picture captures the look of a typical Nike sweatshop worker. An unhappy woman is forced to stay at her work station doing the tedious, paternalistic work of assembling Nike product. The second picture is a “comic” which points out a harsh and sad truth about female workers in sweatshops. Without any chance of an education, women are forced to work at a young age in an attempt to support their families. There is no opportunity to change their current state and must continue working in these conditions as long as they can.
Along with gender, race and social class are prominent when discussing sweatshops. Sweatshops can be found in underdeveloped parts of the world where there are large numbers of desperate workers. For example, Nike, the world’s largest sneaker and sportswear maker, has “some 180 manufacturers and about 210,000 employees” in China.
This video attempts to hit at the heart of its viewers. There are facts concerning sweatshop labor and Nike that are alarming to most people. Accompanied by the images and depressing music, this public service announcement succeeds in making its viewers think about social justice and their consumption of Nike products.
This image illustrates the disparity between the cost of making a Nike shoe and the price the shoe is sold to consumers. Obviously there is an enormous gap and many activists argue that workers should receive large pay raises and Nike would still turn a profit on each sold shoe.
Although Nike is not the only company guilty of gross corporate practices, it is the company that was targeted heaviest concerning corporate responsibility. The Nike brand is often synonymous with slave work, low wages and forced overtime. Along with sweat labor, activists and protestors question why Nike advertisements in the U.S. empower women while Nike engages in corporate practices which disempowered women. Initially, Nike responded to public criticism by saying, “Tell it to the United Nations.” However, after realizing this was not a lucrative position to take, Nike has made huge attempts to repair the company’s image. Nike introduced a radical six point plan in 1998 to repair the company’s corporate practices. Today, Nike works extremely hard to ensure their corporate practices are acceptable. Their Global Corporate Responsibility Strategy, which has several goals including bringing a systematic change for workers in the footwear, apparel and equipment industries, is accessible on their web site.
ESPN covered a story about Jim Keady, an assistant soccer coach with St. John’s University, and his refusal to wear Nike product. Keady stood up against Nike after the company and St John’s agreed to a 3.5 million dollar sponsorship deal. As a result of the deal all teams, players, and coaches of the St. John’s University Red Storm must wear Nike product. Keady believed that supporting a company that used sweatshop labor opposed his catholic identity concerning social justice. Keady was given an ultimatum, “Wear Nike or resign.” After deciding to resign, Keady had made ending sweatshop labor his mission in life. Keady has made multiple trips to Indonesia where he lived the life of a person in a Nike sweatshop. “I lived in a 9×9 box, sleeping on a reed mat on a cement floor for 30 days,” said Keady, “I lost 25lbs trying live like a Nike factory worker.” He is currently producing and directing a feature documentary called SWEAT set to release this year.
This ABC report details the anti-Nike campaign that took play during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Along with Jim Keady, many activists gathered to give a press conference prior to the 2000 Olympic Games. The members spoke of Nike’s minor reforms that had been made and declared many social problems had still not been resolved. Activists often use large sporting forums to speak of the corrupt corporate practices employed by Nike in an attempt to speak to a larger audience. Also, athletes and fans of sporting events are the audience that they feel can hold Nike to a standard and force them to change their corporate practices.
Although one of the many companies that have used sweat labor, Nike has been the target company of criticism about labor conditions in low-wage countries. In the 1990s, when Nike was being pummeled with criticism, the company responded with panic and denial. Recently, however, Nike has developed a program to reduce the labor issues in the 900-odd factories that produce their sneakers. They have inspectors that grade labor standards and also allow random factory inspections. Historically, human rights groups have protested and demonstrated publicly against Nike. However, now these groups speak with the company directly.
There are many ways to get involved in order to continue and to motivate Nike to improve their corporate practices. Numerous campaigns, including Clean Clothes Campaign and United States Against Sweatshops, motivate people to change their consumption practices and hold companies accountable for their actions.
