Sweatshop Labor Essay

640 Words3 Pages
Why doesn’t the most specialized business brand show more professionalism when it comes to their workers? Many times Nike Inc. has been accused of using sweatshops to produce footwear and apparel. Top athletes are endorsed by Nike which in return has positive influences on its consumers. However, when it comes to labor, they do not show the same values due to its illegal and immoral labor practices. Nike has been exploiting poor working conditions in Asia for centuries. A sweatshop is a factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions. Nike hides behind their claims, saying that the company has no control over their sub-contracted factories.…show more content…
Often, the sweatshop environment is unsafe, workers are harassed, intimidated, forced to work overtime, and made to work in dangerous and unhealthy environments, even while sick. Workers handle toxic chemical paints, solvents, and glues with their bare hands. According to a Forbes.com article “77 percent of Bangladeshis live on less than $2 a day the international poverty standard and 43 percent live on less than $1.25 a day, workers at the much-demonized Bangladeshi “sweatshops” average more than $2 a day” (Powell, 2013). Yes when compared to competitors Nike employees do receive higher incomes on an average scale in that demographic, however, Nike should be held to a higher…show more content…
The truth though is that Nike doesn’t think it’s enough profit. Throughout this century workers real wages have gone down while CEO’s have increased. The average CEO in 1965 made 44 times the average factory worker. Today, the average CEO makes 212 times the salary of the average worker. These facts are stunning as to why Nike doesn’t make their sub-contracted companies better places or even the best place to work in Asia. That’s what Nike should strive for, total excellence from their factory labor conditions to professional players to the
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