Today's topic covers my favorite company/ brand to hate.
Nike! When asked if people shopped at Nike stores the majority of individuals
responded with a yes.
Nike has gotten a lot of grief over
the last couple of years. Nike has had many law suites and publicity for their
sweatshops yet they are still a multi-national company. Nike is a supporter of
free- trade. Free – trade in the Clinton
administration was viewed as a good thing. Countries were getting products at
low cost and impoverished countries’ citizens were becoming employed. Outcries
of unfair labor treatment in the Nike factory lead to the Fair Labor
Association. This association encouraged corporations to attempt to reformat
their working conditions. Although Nike has claimed they have changed their
factories conditions, Nike remains high on the list of the worst sweatshop
factories.
Individuals are taking a stance
against Nike by not wearing their clothing. Kevin McMahon, an Olympic athlete,
protested the advertisement of Nike during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. This
created creating coverage and awareness of the Nike sweatshop in Indonesia.
(Billinger, 2001) Keady, an assistant athletic coach at St. Johns, was fired
for not wearing Nike sponsored clothing. Keady was against the sweatshop
factories that produced Nike products and; therefore refused to support the
advertisement of Nike. The school in turn fired him for not being compliant and
wearing the sponsorship (ESPN, 2008). A major hurdle in advocating against
sweatshops is that companies provide sponsorships and funds to major athletics,
schools, organizations, and national events. Standing up to major companies
could mean losing sponsorship and funding for programs. As someone who is not a supporter of Nike, I must admit to owning a bathing suit with the famous Nike swoosh. Nike seems to be everywhere you look. Monmouth University sports are sponsored by Nike and the majority of the clothing sold in the book store has the Nike logo on them.
The question that I ask readers that do wear Nike products out of curiosity is what specifically you like about the brand? If you wear Nike sneakers would you be willing to buy a different brand the next time you need a new pair?
I definitely would be willing to buy a different brand. The only reason I bought my Nikes before was they were on sale :/ Next time I will consider buying a brand that does not use sweatshops. Do you know of any brands that you have come across that are sweatshop free that you could recommend? Thanks and keep up the good work!
ReplyDeletewhen looking up sweatfree shoes New Balance seemed to be the only brand that does not use sweatshops. However sneakers are over $100 a pair
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