Preview

Nike and Child Labor

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
354 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Nike and Child Labor
Nike has been accused of using child labor in the production of its soccer balls and shoes for Nike in Pakistan. While Pakistan has laws against child labor, the government has taken very little action to terminate it. It is said that only a boycott by the United States and other nations will have any impact on child-based industries. In addition, the U.S constitution states that child labor is an illegal and inhumane practice and any U.S. company found guilty practicing and encouraging it will be prosecuted. The World Trade Organization (WTO) prohibits member nations, like the United States, from discriminating against the importation of goods made by children. Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year, so in essence, a typical person survives barely on $5 per day, and with the high rate of inflation it becomes difficult for a low-income population to survive. Nike's child labor is spread all over Pakistan but has the greatest impact in the northwest of punjab province, that is Sialkot. Pakistan has a population of approximately 1 million and is an important center for the production of Nike's goods for export to international markets, particularly sporting goods and shoes. Sialkot is one of the world's most important centers for production of Nike's sporting goods. In June of 1996, Life magazine published a article about Nike's child labor that was occurring in Pakistan. The article showed a little boy who was surrounded by pieces of Nike sports gear. The articles were shoes and soccer balls. Nike then knew then that they had to make some major changes in the way they were producing their items. That article became the topic of the nation and it lead to a protest outside of the sweatshop to stop the child labor practices. It is said that to this day, there are still places in and around Pakistan that are continuing to practice this unlawful action against children. It is up to the people of the United States to not support

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    My Brother Sam is Dead is a novel that takes place in the late 1700’s. It is about Sam Meeker, a young man who wants to enlist into the Rebel army and his younger brother Tom, who admires Sam for his bravery and courage. Both of their parents were completely against his decision to fight for the rebels, and many of their neighbors and town citizens were against the rebels. This was a very common situation of this time, as most people were against the Rebels, so anyone who was a supporter was most likely to have drama. Just like when Tim’s father sent him out to town to run errands and he ran into a man who was being rude to him just because his brothers decision and his beliefs. Sam and his parents would often fight and argue due to their opposite beliefs.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nike Sweatshop Analysis

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Nike publicizes itself as one of the leaders of corporate responsibility. However, they do not comply with several human rights obligations overseas in countries like Thailand, Pakistan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia. In these countries, production facilities called sweatshops have been running for almost 35 years employing workers as young as…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nike and Human Rights

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ethical issues may include the violation of fundamental human rights of ‘sweatshop’ workers such as freedom, speech and discrimination. The treatment of their workers could be deemed ‘unethical’ by media who construe this view to consumers. Such allegations can and will have damaging effects with Nike having been taken to court already in the past.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The success of Nike, however, has not come without controversy. In its efforts to rapidly expand and grow to a worldwide business, the corporation has had its share of ethical controversy, mostly stemming from its largely outsourced factory work. Asian countries like Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, China, Philippines, and Thailand contain the majority of Nike’s factories (Professional Ethics Articles, 2012). This has presented Nike with a substantial amount of bad publicity and negative public response.…

    • 1245 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The current manufacturing practices of the sneaker industry, in particular companies such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Converse, and New Balance, takes place throughout the globe. With the industry experiencing severe competition, and the product requiring intensive labour, firms are facing extreme pressure to increase their profit margins through their sourcing practices. The following paper will analyse the sneaker industry, while examining the multitude of viable manufacturing options, and critiquing their current manufacturing structure.…

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nike plays an enormous role in our youth fashion and athletic attire and has a huge role in our world’s economy and the global effect it has on our earth. Working in the enormous Nike factories around the world is an opportunity to help these people survive. It is not slavery; it is a chance for the poor to get a job and support their families. Nike said they would change their practices and they have. Nike had a few steps to get back into the game. The first step was to identify the problems such as workers’ wages, working environment and then make the improvements, and while doing that they were helping the poor. In the past,…

    • 1816 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Every time a company subcontract to a company abroad, they are at risk for lawsuits and allegations for they are not able to manage the work environment and monitor labor practices. “The majority of Nike shoes are made in Indonesia and China, countries that prohibit independent unions and set the minimum wage at rock bottom. The Indonesian government admits that the minimum wage there do not provide enough to supply the basic needs of one person, let alone a family”, (Hill, 2013, p. 155).…

    • 1023 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1968, close to 50 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed by an assassin's bullet. He had given us a decade of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience during the civil rights movement of the 1950’s. While the idea of nonviolent protest was still relatively new, MLK hadn’t invented it; he had been one of a few who pioneered the idea and made it popular. The theory of civil disobedience can be traced back to an essay by Henry David Thoreau by the same name. This theory was adopted and popularized by Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and eventually, Martin Luther King, Jr.. In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau said that if a law “requires you to be the agent of injustice to another,” you should break that law, rather than be unjust to another person.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    An investigation was conducted where Nike was found to have a large number of cases that involved forced labor or child labor law violations in some of the large apparel factories of Nike. In a particular factory in Malaysia, it was found that Nike was operating production in terrible working conditions for the employees in addition to the forced labor. It was found that Nike had underage children working in sweatshops up to seventy hours a week in unhealthy conditions making their products. Pakistan has a population of approximately 1 million people and it is also an important location or “hub” per say for the production of goods that are to be…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nike Corporation

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Because Nike came under fire for this unethical and inhumane practice, the organization attempted to reduce this practice. Pakistan and Cambodia have strict child labor and slavery laws, however, the government has done very little to regulate it.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Nike Controversy

    • 4921 Words
    • 20 Pages

    Poor working conditions have been present for centuries. Often times little or nothing is done unless a tragedy occurs to persuade the public to rally for worker rights. This was definitely the case in the United States during the Industrial Revolution and even late in the 20th Century. These conditions have for most purposes disappeared in the United States, with the exception of some in the agricultural sector. However, internationally, mainly in poor third world countries, that is far from the truth. Large corporations from the United States have moved a large portion of their factories overseas to circumvent the strict working regulations within the United States. The third…

    • 4921 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sialkot, Pakistan, where many Nike soccer balls are produced, has a model economy, especially in such a poor country. The lack of poverty is mainly due to the fact that children are able to work to help support their families financially. David Montero, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor, explained that a majority 70 percent of the local marketing system of Sialkot depends upon income from child laborers, which is approximately 20,000 families that would be forced into poverty if the United States banned Nike from importing their products due to the makers being underneath working age. Without the consumers from the United States, families in Sialkot and a myriad of other third world countries would would go into a state of poverty. For the sake of all these children and their families’ well-being, the U.S. should continue to buy products that have been manufactured with the use of child…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    - Nike has also been accused of child labour in Pakistan for making footballs. Even though Pakistan is against child labour and slavery, the government has done very little to enforce it. An average person in Pakistan earns only $5 per day; usually with families up to 10 people. With such low pay, child labour is spreading all over Pakistan since the parents can’t earn enough to support the entire family. An entire documentary was filmed for this but the government didn’t do anything to stop it. No one is trying to get these kids out of labour and into school. Education is very limited in poor countries and is a low priority. About half of the world’s footballs are made in Pakistan and there is a very likely chance that a child was involved in making the ball. This is not only a problem in Pakistan but 200 other countries as well. Some ages 4-5 are already working.…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Would you buy something that a 10-year-old made? I know I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t buy it because I wouldn’t like to make it. Those kids in those hot, musty factories are only getting paid about $1 to $2 a day, according to The New York Times. Kids are having to work in horrible conditions. They are dying while working. They also have very heavy machinery in the factories. Along with many other companies, Nike took the pledge to End Child Labor. They also applied the rules abroad the United States.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Child Labour Is Wrong

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Nike for example, cut their deal with Saga which “accounted for $33 million of the industry’s $210 million total.” As stated by Montero. Saga is a huge business which supports many families that need child labor. As many as “20,000 families would get affected” with the deal Nike ended and “%70 percent of the local market relies on them [child labor] for work.” according to Saga’s estimate. I understand that many consumers may want to boycott these companies’ products using child labor; however, a boycott might hurt many of these poor families, therefore leading to more child labor in possibly harsher working conditions based on their desperate need for work. Consumers need to take into consideration how their actions might benefit everyone not just the children. A worldwide boycott on an immense business could turn out catastrophic throughout the world because consumers thought they were doing the “right…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays