Nike and Sweatshops

Global Labor Standards in Nike Manufacturing: Raising the Bar or Just Good P.R.?

Is Nike Inc. an economic savior lifting Global labor standards or a cause in sweatshop labor motivated by profits? The debate over Nike's Sweatshop factories has painted the company's reputation many colors across the spectrum of global Labor Rights.


Nike apologists have managed to justify multi-billion dollar sponsorships of larger than life celebrities like Michael Jordan when their factory workers in Vietnam were paid $1 a day. Phil Knight, Nike Founder and Chairman, put this economic chasm in perspective when he said that Athletes earn so much, “because the markets have dictated that they get that money.” Knight continued that, “…the fact that they endorse our products allows us to sell more products and create more jobs.”[i] Though Nike is not a direct owner of the thousands of factories it contracts with, it’s hard to imagine many of these operations without Nike’s business. Knight inherited the pressure that Sweatshop activists were creating when in 1998 he accepted social responsibility for the conditions at these factories.