Just did it

Nike finally responds to labor activists

For years, Nike has been the leader in the world of athletics. But despite its industry dominance, Nike's labor record has been shameful. It was only last Thursday that Nike gave in to lengthy activist pressure and publicly disclosed the locations of factories that produce University-licensed apparel.

Historically, with its high-profile image and marketing campaigns, Nike had always sought to advertise its products - while avoiding tough questions and allegations regarding the production of those goods. But Nike has taken an important step and given activist groups such as Students Organized for Labor Equality the full public disclosure they spent hours protesting for.

Of course, it is natural to question Nike's motives. Would Nike have taken this step in the absence of pressure from human rights activists around the country? Is Nike simply interested in improving its tarnished image? Probably so. But Nike's motives are less important than its actions. Regardless of Nike's intent, several things are clear.

First, activist groups such as SOLE deserve recognition for providing an effective stimulus to push Nike into action. They have proved that student-led protests are not a relic of the past. Instead, student activism remains an important force in upholding human rights worldwide. The countless hours of protests, shouts on the Diag and the siege of University President Lee Bollinger's office did not all go for naught. These passionate maneuvers provided the impetus to action. And in a world of stodgy beaurocracy and slow-moving institutions that tend to resist change, that difficult first step is often the most crucial.

Nike has reduced workers' hours, raised the minimum working age, significantly curtailed the use of toxic substances to equal or exceed the standards set by OSHA and decided to buy only from contractors who pay "at least the minimum wage, or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher," according to its 1998 Annual Report. Nike also terminated contracts with eight factories in four different countries that refused to meet its labor standards. And now it has agreed to full public disclosure - all notable, but overdue and imperfect. It is necessary for the rest of the apparel industry to follow suit.

One would be foolish to pretend the end of the fair labor practices crusade is near. Ignoble conditions do not arise overnight, nor do they disappear with the crack of dawn. But as Eric Brakken, an organizer for the United Students Against Sweatshops, said in Friday's New York Times, "What Nike did is important. It blows open the whole notion that other companies are putting forward that they can't make such disclosures."

The precedent this situation has set is most important. We have now seen once again the power of concerned citizens to spearhead positive change across the globe. Times like these make one believe not only in the power of free speech, but also in the ability to rectify past evils.

10-11-99