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Nike Sweatshops
Nike's human right situation is horrible
The documentarian Jim Keady wrote regarding the horrible sweatshops and living conditions and the Kaepernick Nike situation on Daily Kos:
Given the above, I am deeply disappointed that Nike is attempting to co-opt Colin’s actions in order to sell more shoes that are still made in sweatshop conditions by mostly young women of color in Vietnam, Indonesia, and China.
The short of it is, Nike never does anything simply because it is the right thing to do. They do not care about social justice or human rights. This is about money. Period. They are still reeling because of the sexual misconduct allegations at Nike headquarters and want to pivot attention away from that. They also see this as a way to endear themselves to one of their largest bases of customers - young black men - to sell more sneakers. And they are banking on capturing the anti-Trump movement with this move. Again, to sell more sneakers. This is “cause marketing” 101.
In closing, I want to be crystal clear. I 100% support Colin’s kneeling and why he’s kneeling. I also want to be clear that I am not in a position to suggest that Colin needs to use his platform to pivot the conversation away from police brutality to international labor rights and Nike’s sweatshop abuses. Every American needs to keep talking about police brutality and Colin is keeping that conversation front and center. White people who are uncomfortable with that — deal with it. It’s not our place to tell black Americans how to fight white supremacy in a way that makes us feel better. I am just sharing that this Nike thing makes me sad.
The short of it is, Nike never does anything simply because it is the right thing to do. They do not care about social justice or human rights. This is about money. Period. They are still reeling because of the sexual misconduct allegations at Nike headquarters and want to pivot attention away from that. They also see this as a way to endear themselves to one of their largest bases of customers - young black men - to sell more sneakers. And they are banking on capturing the anti-Trump movement with this move. Again, to sell more sneakers. This is “cause marketing” 101.
In closing, I want to be crystal clear. I 100% support Colin’s kneeling and why he’s kneeling. I also want to be clear that I am not in a position to suggest that Colin needs to use his platform to pivot the conversation away from police brutality to international labor rights and Nike’s sweatshop abuses. Every American needs to keep talking about police brutality and Colin is keeping that conversation front and center. White people who are uncomfortable with that — deal with it. It’s not our place to tell black Americans how to fight white supremacy in a way that makes us feel better. I am just sharing that this Nike thing makes me sad.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/4/1793129/-Colin-Kaepernick-Nike-s-Sweatshops
