Nike sweatshops: inside the scandal

Their brand celebrates humanity and all its potential, but Nikehas a history of treating its workers as if they were not human atall.

In 1991, American labor activist Jeffrey Ballinger published areport on Nike’s factory practices in Indonesia, exposing ascandal: below-minimum wages, child labor, and appalling conditionslikened to a sweatshop – a factory or workshop where employees worklong hours for low money in conditions that are hazardous tohealth.

US College student Jim Keady also delved into Nike’s inhumaneproduction practices in the 90s, and in his film Behindthe Swoosh exposed how workers, who were paid $US1.25 perday, were forced to live in slums near open sewers and sharedtoilets and bathwater with multiple families.

And in 1996, Life magazine ran a reportage onchild labor that included a shocking photo of a 12-year-oldPakistani boy sewing a Nike soccer ball.

Sweatshops are common in developing countries, including inIndonesia, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Cambodia, where laborlaws are rarely enforced.

The factories, which are often housed in deterioratingbuildings, are cramped with workers and pose fire dangers. Workersare also restricted access to the toilet and drinking water duringthe day.

Companies such as Nike and Adidas will spruik the line thattheir factories have strict codes of conduct, but it is difficultto know if those codes are enforced in developing countries.

As the world fumed over Nike's apparent lack of regard for itsforeign workers in the 90s, the American company pledged tooverhaul the appalling conditions.

But was it lip service, or did they actually do something?

In 2001, Leila Salazar, corporate accountability director forGlobal Exchange, told The Guardian: "During the lastthree years, Nike has continued to treat the sweatshop issue as apublic relations inconvenience rather than as a serious humanrights matter.”

The company disagreed.

”I think we've made significant strides, and I'm proud of what thecompany has done over the last three years," said Nike's chairmanPhil Knight. “It may take a while longer, but I do think that itwill be understood that Nike is a good citizen in all the countriesthat it operates in.”

In 2007, as the world began embracing “corporateresponsibility,” Nike provided a list of its 700 factories aroundthe world as a way of allowing others to check if it was adheringto its policies. Nike spokesman Lee Weinstein said he hoped thereport will "move the industry forward in addressing some of theseendemic issues.”

Many were skeptical of the move.

“It’s good information to have,” Ballinger told NBC News at thetime. “But I’ve always viewed their corporate responsibility workas trying to put the best face on the situation and not necessarilydealing with the issues workers have raised.”

So where does Nike stand today?

According to the ethical clothing advocacy group Good On You,Nike is certified under the Fair Labor Association Workplace Codeof Conduct. But a 2018 report by the Clean Clothes Campaign, foundthat Adidas and Nike still pay “poverty” wages to workers. Thereport called on both Nike and Adidas to commit to paying "living"wages (the amount of income needed to provide a decent standard ofliving) to its workers.

With annual revenue of over $US30 billion, it should be able toafford it.

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