Nike: Slave Labour

Terran

Nike have just admitted to using Slave and Child Labour to make their goods, however, they say, 'it is too late to change it now.'

Most people know what Nike have been up to for years, and yet those same people still buy Nike goods.

I can't believe how people can be so stupid as to ignore blatant facts just to be 'trendy'.

This HAS to stop.

DadaKopf

What's your source for this?

Terran

Irish Independent.

bugler

Hmm, haven't seen this.On a similar note, I'll type out an article (if I can;t find it online) on where the US Defence Department gets its uniforms made sometime this week.

Very interesting reading I can assure you.

Sean

When i Was Shoping in Belfast last week,
a bus stoped out side gap the bus was marked
The Jesus Army
So as i was saying they started to shout stuff like Ban gap and Free The Slaves then more people joined in, then the police came in roit gear and kicked the F**k out of them.
But every company is it these days

bonkey

Originally posted by Terran
Nike have just admitted to using Slave and Child Labour to make their goods, however, they say, 'it is too late to change it now.'

Most people know what Nike have been up to for years, and yet those same people still buy Nike goods.

I can't believe how people can be so stupid as to ignore blatant facts just to be 'trendy'.

If you can have ppl attacking, beating up, and even killing each other over a pair of Nikes (as numerous cases in the US have been documented), why do you think they would care about who made them?

Also, go through your clothes. All of them. Check the labels. Check where they all were made. You might find some surprises.

One of the biggest problems with this global exploitation is that it is almost always linked to the likes of Nike, Adidas, and one or two other major brands. The simple fact is that most international sportsgear and clothes manufacturers are at the same game.

Sure, you can boycott Nike, but what will you buy instead? The Adidas or Reebok gear that was made in the same sweatshop? The no-name brands from Dunnes which are more than likely from a similar location?

Yes, it has to stop, but seeing the problem clearly is not as simple as you might think.

jc

Terran

I'm glad so many people agree with me, I was expecting angry comments, and I understand what you're saying, Bonkey.

I'm sure no clothes I buy are made anywhere eccept developed countries. I buy Asics more than any other brand. As I said in a different thread, there is not one Nike product in my house.

I would like to see this article on where the army gets its uniforms.

chernobyl

I dont buy my clothes to look "trendy", i buy them because the look great.
i dont care nike,fubu,atari clothing its all the same.
if i like it, i will buy it.

Nike have been abusing thier position but name a company who does not?
the only reason companies setup in such countries is to produce clothes at the merginal rate and to sell and vastly inflated prices which equals huge proifit margins, but this will never change.


dont waste your time man.

bonkey

Originally posted by Terran
[BI'm sure no clothes I buy are made anywhere eccept developed countries. I buy Asics more than any other brand. [/B]

This would be Asics who has footwear made by the Pou Chen corporation in the far east - a corporation who also make Nike and Addidas running shoes, amongst others?

Now, I havent checked fully into Pou Chen, but what I have seen shows that they are better than some (or most), but still not a particularly attractive manufacturer. Run a quick google search and you should find some info on them.

Are you 100% sure that your purchases are products from a developed nation? I'm not saying that they arent...I'm just asking.

And even at that, it kinda goes to show...you dont buy Nike, you buy Asics. Nike and Asics have footwear made in the same factories. Why are Asics any better than Nike then?

On a related note, what about the non-sportswear you own. Surely not every scrap of clothing you own is sportswear? Do you know where all of it came from?

Dont take this as an attack....I'm just showing why its not a simple "Nike sux" problem.

Sure, if Nike can be made to change, then there is a chance that the rest of the industry may follow in course for fear of being targetted next, or by being targetted next. Or they may not.

jc

Terran

I know where Asics comes from; China and Indonesia, but I can't help it.

And I don't take what you said as an attack, I agree whole-heartedly.

adnans

for the nike report go to http://nikebiz.com/reporting/index.shtml

Nike Watch is at http://www.caa.org.au/campaigns/nike



i also suggest reading no logo by naomi klein.

adnans

DadaKopf

Also, I'd suggest getting inspired by this:

http://adbusters.org/creativeresistance/36/1.html

And do this:

Let us celebrate the stink bomb. Safe. Easy to make. Simple to carry. And the smell – the smell can linger for days.

Imagine small groups of jammers hitting Nike shops worldwide, again and again, with a harmless, rotten-eggs stench. Not a very clever message, but, like tear gas, one that’s very hard to forget. And simple, too: Nike, you’re tainted; your brand stinks! Spraying a little perfume around doesn’t make you clean.

Unswooshing Nike will also get the word out to other wayward corp-orations that we the people have our limits. If you debase our discourse, if you blur the line between authentic process and corporate spin, if you openly fan the fires of cynicism, then you are going to get stung.

Turner

All the people who work in these sweatshops (including kids) are getting pittins every1 says.

Where would they be if they didnt work in these sweatshops ?? They's have no job and hence They'd have no money.

At least theyre earning, (very little)- but i dont think they will ever get paid any more. Boycotting products will only lead to these "slaves" losing their jobs as the demand for the products they produce declines.

Chief.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

The Gopher

Couldnt agree more Chief.These western do gooders go out there and close down factories and feel good about themselves.But what then?Many of those kids are probably working there cos theres 8 or 9 younger kids livoing with them,their father or mother might be dead or unable to work and so on.50P a day mightnt seem much here but im sure in the likes of Bangladesh it will feed and clothe u at least.When these fat millionaires from the West come and shut a factory shouldnt they at least compensate the ppl by giving them a large wad of cash?After all theyve just madem redundant from their jobs.

tools

Nike is targeted not because it's the only company using sweatshops or anything like that but because it draws attention to human and labour rights abuses which are widespread in the clothing industry. It's not about "western do-gooders" trying to shut factories. It's about factory workers trying to obtain very very modest increases in conditions for themselves. If "western do-gooders" can help by highlighting their plight then good for them. As for chief and gopher's comments, cop the fuk on and read up on the subject before commenting.

The Gopher

No you cop the fuk on.These people need the money.They dont have any dole over there so u take what u get and dojnt look a gift horse in the mouth.If the workers were paid pur minium wage theyd soon be richer than people in good positions like doictors or whatever,who had to go to uni and study their trade,and then for some 15 year pold shoe sticher to earn more than them.Its just all some kinda Marxist dream that could never happen.And quite rightly so.

Digi_Tilmitt

Originally posted by The Gopher
No you cop the fuk on.These people need the money.They dont have any dole over there so u take what u get and dojnt look a gift horse in the mouth.If the workers were paid pur minium wage theyd soon be richer than people in good positions like doictors or whatever,who had to go to uni and study their trade,and then for some 15 year pold shoe sticher to earn more than them.Its just all some kinda Marxist dream that could never happen.And quite rightly so.

Hey wake up! Half the people working there are literally slaves and do not get paid anything at all.

adnans

before you speak your mind off and rant about subjects you are vaguely informed about, have a look at the links provided in my previous post, and oh yeah, read that damn book.

the people that do work in nike factories do get paid, very little. nike says wages are ok - but infact they are very little to live on ($2 - $4 dollars per day). nike says that working conditions are safe - but almost every week a worker loses a part of a finger in dangerous machines. nike say that they recognise the right of workers to meet and form unions - what actually happens is that if workers organise meetings they are threatened and intimidated. nike lies a lot as well.

there is no need to close those factories at all. we dont want this, people would lose their jobs and will go back to poverty as some of you mentioned. there is a serious need for independent monitoring of nike factories so that human rights will be respected.

yet again... http://www.caa.org.au/campaigns/nike << nike watch

and the book is called NO LOGO. im sure that there is more books dealing with the subject but that book is the one that is widelyy available in irish bookshops.

adnans

bonkey

In No Logo (amongst other places) it is also pointed out that the daily wage many of these workers get paid is *lower* than the daily cost of living.

While this may sound weird, bear in mind that most of the people recruited to work in these factories are offered great things, and generally live in abject poverty amongst families who can no longer afford to keep all their children living at home.

They go to these jobs in hope of getting on in life, and then get subjected to intimidation, abuse, and horridly low pay - often so low that the workers cannot afford to make their way home should they quit.

This is not "better than nothing". It is systematic abuse of the poor.

jc

bugler

Those damn kids should take their few cents a day and be grateful.We can't have them getting paid better wages and thus eating into the profits of big corporations, thats just not how civilised people conduct their business.Next these workers might get ideas about basic human rights in the workplace, and how they might be entitled to anything other than a life of misery, which of course would be bad.

I forgot the book with the US Defence Dept. story in it when coming back to college on Sunday, I'll get that to you this weekend, apologies.

tools

Here's some stats from No Logo about sweatshops in China.


Walmart/ Kathie Lee Handbags
$0.13 to $0.23 per hour
60-70 hours per week;
10 hour shifts; 6-7 days a week
No factory fire exits; dirty, cramped dorms, 10 to a room; for 70 hours a week, warehouse workers earn $3.44; no benefits; no legal work contract

Walmart/ Kathie Lee
$0.20 to $0.35 per hour
84 hours per week;
12-hour shifts; 7 days a week; mandatory 24-hour shifts during rush times
Forced overtime, severe fines for refusal to comply; no benefits, no overtime rate; no fire exits in dormitories; no work contract

Walmart
$0.23 per hour
60 hours per week
Wal-mart is pulling out of this factory and other large publicly owned plants in the north to relocate its work to unregulated lower-wage privately owned sweatshops in the south of China

Ann Taylor and Preview
$0.14 per hour
96 hours per week;
7 days a week; 7 am to midnight
Workers have never heard of a Code of Conduct; 6 to 10 workers in a dorm room

J.C. Penney
$0.18 per hour
78 hours per week;
11-hour shifts; 7 days a week
No union; no benefits; workers have never heard of the J.C. Penney Corporate Code of Conduct

Sears
$0.28 per hour
60 hours per week
Sears is pulling out to relocate its production in lower-wage, unregulated sweatshops in the south

Nike Athletic Shoes
$0.16 per hour
77-84 hours per week; 11 to 12 hour shifts; 7 days a week
Workers fined if they refuse to work overtime; overtime rate not paid; most had no legal work contract; humiliation, screaming, some corporal punishment; arbitrary fining of pregnant women and older (25 years and up) women; fines if talking at work; approximately 10 children in the sewing section; most workers have never heard of Nike's Code of Conduct

Magwitch

The fact that Nike has abused its workers in the far east is not exactly news. It has been the subject of campaigns for a long time.

What is interesting is that the word "Nike" did enter the Thai language as a term of abuse. BUT despite all the campaigns noting substantial has ever been done. Now Nike has announced a clean up of its practices and factories (make what you will of that), but why, after so much pressure, is it being done now?

Answer : the "Nike" word as a term of abuse "You have been Niked..etc etc" has entered street language in the west (its main market). This gives a negitive brand image and word association, and thus Nike has reacted. Pathetic really.

Karl Hungus

Originally posted by bonkey

Also, go through your clothes. All of them. Check the labels. Check where they all were made. You might find some surprises.

My newrocks were made in spain.
My Grinders were made in England.
All my mesh shirts, and my crushed velvet shirt were all made in London.
My shiny PVC pants were made in London.
My side-buckled pants were made in London.
My Cradle Of Filth T-Shirts were made right here in Ireland!

Goth: Looking good, and having a clean consience!

smiles

The one thing to remember is that if the social structure / economy was similar to ones in the developed world there would be a huge problem. However it isn't, the wages being offered are usually pretty competitive as compared to some of the local factories. I do not agree with child labour, etc, but it was a point that had to be made.

Digi_Tilmitt

Originally posted by adnans
before you speak your mind off and rant about subjects you are vaguely informed about, have a look at the links provided in my previous post, and oh yeah, read that damn book.

the people that do work in nike factories do get paid, very little. nike says wages are ok - but infact they are very little to live on ($2 - $4 dollars per day). nike says that working conditions are safe - but almost every week a worker loses a part of a finger in dangerous machines. nike say that they recognise the right of workers to meet and form unions - what actually happens is that if workers organise meetings they are threatened and intimidated. nike lies a lot as well.

there is no need to close those factories at all. we dont want this, people would lose their jobs and will go back to poverty as some of you mentioned. there is a serious need for independent monitoring of nike factories so that human rights will be respected.

adnans

There are some children who are taken or robbed from there homes and forced to work off some family debt. That seems alright but huge interest is charged on the debt so it takes years to work it off.

These children are literrally kidnapped. I don't know if this happenes in nike factories but it definetly happens in carpet factories.

bonkey

Originally posted by smiles
The one thing to remember is that if the social structure / economy was similar to ones in the developed world there would be a huge problem. However it isn't, the wages being offered are usually pretty competitive as compared to some of the local factories. I do not agree with child labour, etc, but it was a point that had to be made.

A wage which is below the local cost of living cannot be excused under any conditions.

If the wages are "competitive", that is because almost no-one is earning enough to live.

An argument like that is similar to saying that abject poverty is ok, as long as the majority of people are suffering from it.

For any company to exploit this is inexcusable. The cost to Nike to double the wage they pay workers would be in the region of $60m annually, which they frequently spend on other areas - it is a relative drop in the ocean to them.

Hey - even if they did double the wage and passed the cost directly to the consumer, the net increase in cost would be less than a dollar per pair of shoes. Given the high price of their gear already, I dont think anyone would even notice.

jc

bugler

For those who expressed an interest in the story of the manner in which US military unifroms are made, I managed to get that story online, hooray for my fingers.

http://www.motherjones.com/mother_jones/MJ99/boal.html

The companies reaction and the reply by the editor are linked to at the top also, you will note.