Persuasive Essay On Nike's Sweatshops

Producing product overseas puts Nike at risk of overseas sourcing, manufacturing, and financing. Nike buys and sells to different countries using different currencies. The currency rate fluctuates very often and Nike, at times could take a loss. This is a risk most companies cannot take. Nike has the ability to produce materials, import product and sell product in international market during a time of disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks, and military conflict. With these risks there are few companies who can afford to take these risks (aflorzak.com). This also proves no new threat for Nike.

But, omnisciently speaking, both entities faced severe scrutiny and criticism from United States and international citizens for their capitalistic business practices. Furthermore, a vast number of American citizens, mainly teenagers, had been killed over Nike Air Jordan sneakers because of their high price tag, while the cost to produce the shoes were rapidly declining due to Nike’s unprecedented offshore production. Bill Bigelow’s, The Human Lives behind the Labels: The Global Sweatshop, Nike, and the Race to the Bottom accurately portrays this capitalistic mentality when mentioning, “children as young as 6 are ‘sold and resold like furniture, branded, beaten, blinded as punishment for wanting to go home...’ For pennies an hour, these children work in dank sheds, stitching soccer balls with the familiar Nike swoosh and logos of other transnational athletic equipment companies” (Bigelow, 113). What is most disturbing to fans of Nike and Jordan were their comments and proposed remedies on the matter. Essentially, Jordan did nothing to curtail the number of kids being killed for his shoes and, as far as his affiliation with capitalistic Nike, Jordan did not want to cause any kind of rift between himself and the corporation that made him millions

Unfortunately, the same factor that contributed to Nike’s exponential growth (low-cost labor and production) also contributed to hurting Nike’s public image as a leader in “athleticism, health and fitness, and innovative marketing and design” (Locke, 2002). Nike was criticized for unethical practices by their subcontractors, which included underpaid workers, poor working conditions, child labor, and abuse (Locke, 2002).

Nike, Inc or Nike is a very popular and successful business that originated in the early 70s. This business firstly began, known as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, however, 7 years later saw them changing their name into what we know them today as; Nike Inc.

According to legend, this idea dawns on him in the kitchen when he looked at his wife's waffle iron. The "Waffle" of Nike soles help to win at the end of the 70s, 50% of the sports shoe market in the United States. In the mid-80s among the Americans cult of the body, it was particularly popular, so sports clothes and shoes bought in large quantities. Nike supported the desire of consumers to healthy lifestyles with the help of advertising. Advertising of Nike has become so recognizable that the company ceased even to specify the company name, as the logo was enough. Thanks to an advertising campaign «Just Do It» in the early 90's, Nike has achieved unprecedented success and even became a new brand of religion that has allowed it to take its place among such staunch consumer market giants like Coca-Cola, Gillette, and Proctor &

However, Nike has long been eluding allegations of employing people in the developing and under-developed economies, at low wages and poor working conditions for a long time. Nike tried many different measures of correcting

What started with a handshake between two running geeks in Oregon in January 1964 are now the world 's most competitive sports and Fitness Company. Bill Bowerman the legendary University of Oregon track &field coach and Phil Knights a University of Oregon runner under Bowerman coach, found the Nike Company, named by the Greek winged goddess of victory. First the company was named Blue Ribbon Sports. The Nike athletic machine began as a small distributing outfit located in the trunk of Phil Knight 's car. From these rather unpromising beginnings, Knight 's idea grew to become the shoe and athletic company that would come to define many aspects of popular culture. Bill Bowerman 's search for

Nike has suffered attacks from a number of agencies and organizations throughout the world that claim that the workers who manufacture Nike shoes are denied the basic essentials of living—a fair wage and decent benefits. All

During the late 80s and early 90s Nike was faced with a series of labor strike back at home due to unethical labor practices by its independent countries in third world countries. It is well known for Nike to outsource almost all its production from third world countries at cheap prices and sell them in U.S. market at an abnormal profit. The company began outsourcing its products from Japan where labor was competent and wages were very low. The living standards were raised which prompted Nike to outsource its products from Thailand, Pakistan and Indonesia since wages in these countries were extremely low and labor for these products were competent due to rapid development of the Japanese economy. The outsourcing of footwear products from Asian countries enables Nike to earn high profits and enjoy a competitive advantage over its rivals in the footwear industry. The company invests the high profits realized in marketing its products through celebrities. For instance, Michael Jordan was used to advertise the positive image of Nike Company (Lipschutz and James, pp. 87-96).

Nike is one of the most recognisable organizations worldwide and the top in the athletic industry. As all domestic companies, Nike manufactured its products in the USA but due to higher labour costs, cooperated with two Japanese manufacturers until it again turned to countries with even lower labour cost. Basically Nike never made shoes in the United States, as Japan was considered a country of the third world and since then Nike was migrating from nation to nation. Globalization allows just this practice; companies export

Nike is one of those companies that has faced serious criticism from different stakeholders such as NGOs as well as Journalists which symbolizes the representation of the business in society. However, these stakeholders has criticized Nike on its poor handling on the issue

In this report I will be throwing light on all or most of the unethical practices followed by Nike in the past. Nike has manufacturing units all across the globe with major stake in the Asian countries and it has more than seventy thousand employees across the global. Just like any other company the unethical practices of Nike did not take a long time to grab its share of limelight in the global economy for all the wrong

Nike Inc. is a sports gear company based out of Unites states of America. The company deals with development and sales of athletic sport equipments and recreational products. Nike sponsor various athletes and teams by providing their products to promote. The brand is endorsed by various famous players such as Carl Lewis, basketball player Michael Jordan, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Sebastian Coe. Nike products cover running, basketball, football, cricket, tennis and golf under Nike and Jordan brand names.

Nike began as an enterprise in Oregon with its founder, sports enthusiast Phil Knight. In 1962, Nike started under the name Blue Ribbon Sports. During this time, the athletic shoe industry was dominated by the Adidas and Puma companies. Knight recognized there was segment of serious athletes that had specialized needs that were not being addressed by the major companies.

With a slogan of “Just Do It,” Nike is known all over the world for its products ranging from apparel to shoes. Receiving recognition and sponsorship from various celebrities and athletes including Michael Jordan, Nike’s brand is generally associated in a positive light. However, the brand itself, variety of products, and numerous sponsors exist as only a few aspects of this continuously expanding brand. Another aspect to consider when addressing the overall existence of a product as well as the constant introduction of new products is the production process itself: how the product came to be, who is involved in creating the product, and where the product is produced.