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Sweatshops and Child Labor Day 1. What is a sweatshop??. Workplace where workers are subject to extreme exploitation Absence of a living wage or benefits Poor working conditions Verbal and/or physical abuse
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What is a sweatshop?? • Workplace where workers are subject to extreme exploitation • Absence of a living wage or benefits • Poor working conditions • Verbal and/or physical abuse *since workers here are paid less than their daily expenses, they are never able to save any money to improve their lives
Child Labor • Estimated 250 million children between 4 – 14 work in developing countries • Many children forced to work • Denied an education and normal childhood • Some children confined and beaten • Some denied right to see family • Some abducted and forced to work
NIKE “Just Do It”
The Issue • NIKE accused of using child labor to make soccer balls in Pakistan
Pakistan • Average person barely makes $5 a day • Child labor all over Pakistan • Population of Pakistan approximately 1 million • Important center for the production of goods for export to international markets (especially sporting goods) • 1994 – exports of these goods brought almost US$ 385 million into Pakistan economy
Pakistan continued • Has long been documented that child labor exists here (even in news) but little is done about it • Child labor is against the law in Pakistan – but the government does little to enforce it • Very little money given to education system – therefore low priority in Pakistan
Soccer Balls • If you buy one today, most likely made by a child • About half of the world’s soccer balls are made in Pakistan (went through a process of production where child labor is involved) • NIKE is known to produce its equipment in countries that are developing – why? Very cheap labor, authoritarian government and lack of human rights appeal and union movement
Nike’s success story is not based on good name and advertising alone but also attached to it is the tears of tortured workers and child labor.
Discussion Why do we continue to buy products from a company like NIKE while knowing that in most cases, the product has been made by a child?
Something to think about …. When a person states that he/she is working for Nike, it gives a very good status symbol. But what if the person is a 9 year old child? What image will it give you as a consumer when you but those products or brands that employ child labor?
What can we do??... Consumers should take an immediate action in order to eradicate child labor and practice discharged by these multinational U.S. corporations. This can only be done by not buying their products which are produced in the third world and which have suspicion of a child being involved in the process. Child labor is a human rights issue. What is more of a human right than growing up as a free person, attending school without being held in bondage?
NIKE Endorsement Deals hit $1.4 billion Tiger Woods ($100M/ 5 years) LeBron James ($90M/7 years) Michael Jordan ($47M/5 years) Kobe Bryan ($40M/5 years) Manchester United ($484M/13 years) – England’s Soccer Team
“Just don’t do it” After watching the movie clips from class, write a half page reflection on what you learnt on Nike Sweatshops, how you feel about the topic and how this will affect you as an individual and a possible Nike consumer.
