Does Nike support child labor?
Nike admits it cannot ensure that none of its contractors will use child labour, and says the issue is the "most vexing" problem it faces. "Our goal... is to continue to do everything we can to eradicate child labour in our contract factories, but we can be certain that cases will occur," the report states.
Ask Nike. In the 1990s, the Portland-based sportswear giant was plagued with damning reports that its global supply chain was being supported by child labor in places like Cambodia and Pakistan, with minors stitching soccer balls and other products as many as seven days a week for up to 16 hours a day.
The report stated: "The brand can show no evidence of a Living Wage being paid to any workers". Moreover, in 2020, the Washington Post reported that Nike purchases from a factory that relies on forced labor from Uyghurs.
Nike. Throughout the years, Nike is one of those companies that has been linked over and over in various ways to child labor and unsafe conditions in their factories. As recently as 2020, investigations showed that Nike (along with Apple) was linked to forced labor from the Uyghur people in China.
In the 1990s, [Nike] was plagued by reports that it used sweatshops and child labor.
It's your standard corporation so take it with a grain of salt, but it has competitive salaries and benefits, a fun atmosphere, work life balance, and an honest-to-God cool feel of working there. The team experience however, really depends on where in the company you land.
Overall, Nike shoes have a heavy impact on the environment, from leather, to carbon emission, and poor working conditions for factory workers. However, Nike has seen what they are doing, and have begun to right the ship.
If they run fast and with comfort, customers will associate happier sentiments with the brand. Similarly, aesthetically pleasing products inspire positive emotions in customers. By producing trainers which look as good as they feel, Nike instils confidence in its customers.
Nike's Community Support Program. As part of their community outreach program, Nike spent more than $89 million in 2020 to help over 17 million kids around the world get active in sports and exercise. Nike also committed to training nearly 100,000 coaches to help communities most in need.
Nike does not have a great track record on respecting human rights in its factories, including reports of wage theft, violence and discrimination against women, unsafe working conditions and retaliation against union organizers.
When did Nike stop using sweatshops?
Nike sweatshops
Nike had been accused of using sweatshops to produce its sneakers and activewear since the 1970s, but it was only in 1991 when activist Jeff Ballinger published a report detailing the low wages and poor working conditions in Nike's Indonesian factories that the sportswear brand came under fire.
Nike also raised the minimum wage it paid workers, improved oversight of labor practices, and made sure factories had clean air. These admissions and changes helped public sentiment toward Nike turn more positive, Sehdev said.
Nike is one of the largest companies that use sweatshops and child slave labor. Nike has sweatshops all over the world. In the 1970s, Nike's shoes were mostly made in South Korea and Taiwan, with some factories still in the United States.
Their Environmental Impact
By now, most people know how damaging the fashion industry is to the environment. Most Nike products are either made out of cotton or polyester, both of which can be very polluting.
Almost all Nike shoes are manufactured outside of the United States. The leading manufacturer of Nike shoes is China and Vietnam each accounting for 36% of the total manufactured world wide. Indonesia accounts for 22% and Thailand for 6% of the Nike shoes that are being produced world wide.
| Nike flagship store in Manhattan | |
|---|---|
| Net income | US$6.05 billion (2022) |
| Total assets | US$40.32 billion (2022) |
| Total equity | US$15.28 billion (2022) |
| Number of employees | c. 79,100 (May 2022) |
Most Nike shoes use a mix of leather, fabric, foam, and rubber. The Nike classics and deluxe model basketball shoes will have real leather parts. Nike running shoes and modern performance baseball shoes are generally made with lightweight fabric uppers in place of heavier leather.
You can certainly find their manufacturing sites in countries like Vietnam, China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Italy. But China wins this competition with a total of 112 factories, and 156 THOUSAND workers (those are some huge factories right!).
Nike sweatshops
Nike was initially slow to respond—but under increasing pressure, it eventually made some changes by improving its monitoring efforts, raising the minimum age of workers, and increasing factory audits. The brand has since earned plaudits far and wide for its efforts.
The company said the child workers are now no longer being used, or are no longer underage.
How does Nike impact the environment?
Nike also uses leather as a substantial part of its business. The leather industry uses a co*cktail of harmful chemicals to preserve leather. Tannery effluent also contains large amounts of other pollutants which can pollute the land, air and water supply, making it a highly polluting industry.
We take a zero-tolerance approach to both forced labor and child labor. All suppliers working for us must sign and comply with our strict anti-forced-labor and anti-child-labor policies. In 2020, we identified 0 cases of child labor.
On the plus side, Nike has committed to not knowingly using Uzbek cotton—where forced labour and child labour has been rife—after being called out for it in early 2020. The brand also now ensures payment of a living wage in a small proportion of its supply chain.
- Child Labour. Although Child Labour laws are in place in countries NIKE still choses to overlook this and children as young as 12 years of age are made to work in the factories for long hours. ...
- Expensive Endorsem*nts. ...
- Low wages. ...
- Expensive Products. ...
- Fainting in Cambodia factories.
According to NBC News, Nike revealed in a corporate responsibility report the names and locations of its over 700 factories way back in 2005.
