The world's leading sports shoe manufacturer Nike, has admitted that its Indonesian workers suffer widespread verbal and physical abuse at its factories.
A report funded by Nike found workers at the nine factories studied were bullied, forced to work overtime and had limited access to health care.
Workers reported that some of them were punished for being late by being made to clean toilets or run around factory grounds. There were also reports of workers being coerced into sex and assembly-line workers being fondled by managers.
About 85% of workers in Nike's 25 contract factories in Indonesia are young women of an average age of 23 years. Nike has said it would immediately begin remedial action to improve conditions.
Spokeswoman Maria Eitel said the company would provide special training for managers and hire monitors to ensure pay and sick leave rules were followed.
"Of course, many of the results are disturbing, but that's exactly what we wanted to find out," she said.
Thousands interviewed
In the past, Nike has been widely attacked for the working conditions at its overseas factories, which some critics have described as sweat shops.
More than 4,000 workers were interviewed for the report by researchers from the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities - a group based in Washington DC made up of private and non-profit organisations, including Nike.
Rick Little, chairman of the Alliance's operating council, called the allegations "very troubling".
The alliance lamented the "deeply disturbing" reported incidents of sexual favours being demanded by bosses.
It also said that in several cases, workers reported collapsing before their supervisors would grant access to a factory clinic.
Other cases allege that the deaths of two workers were related to the denial of medication.
But Mr Little stressed that Nike "acted in good faith throughout the assessment process, and has developed a serious and reasonable remediation plan to respond to the findings".
Nike is a member of the Fair Labor Association and pays $100,000 annually in dues.
The company has reported strong profits from its Asia-Pacific region - for last year's second quarter ending 19 December, revenues grew to $292 million, a 20% increase over the same period a year earlier.
BBC Report
-- Rich (howe9@shentel.net), February 22, 2001
Rich:
Has this one reached your mailbox yet? [I don't have time to
reformat it.]
> Nike now lets you personalize your shoes by submitting a word or
phrase
> which they will stitch onto your shoes, under the swoosh. So Jonah
Peretti filled out the form and sent them $50 to stitch "SWEATSHOP"
onto his shoes.
>
> Here's the responses he got...
>
> * * * * * * * * *
>
> From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
>
> Your NIKE iD order was cancelled for one or more of the following
> reasons:
>
> 1) Your Personal iD contains another party's trademark or other
intellectual property
> 2) Your Personal iD contains the name of an athlete or team we do
not have the legal right to use
> 3) Your Personal iD was left blank. Did you not want any
personalization?
> 4) Your Personal iD contains profanity or inappropriate slang, and
besides, your mother would slap us.
>
> If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalization
> please visit us again at www.nike.com
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
>
> From: "Jonah H. Peretti" To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
>
> Greetings,
>
> My order was canceled but my personal NIKE iD does not violate any
of the criteria outlined in your message. The Personal iD on my
custom
> ZOOM XC USA running shoes was the word "sweatshop."
>
> Sweatshop is not:
> 1) another's party's trademark,
> 2) the name of an athlete,
> 3) blank, or
> 4) profanity.
>
> I choose the iD because I wanted to remember the toil and labor of
the children that made my shoes. Could you please ship them to me
immediately.
>
> Thanks and Happy New Year, Jonah Peretti
>
>
> From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
>
> Dear NIKE iD Customer,
>
> Your NIKE iD order was cancelled because the iD you have chosen
contains, as stated in the previous e-mail
correspondence, "inappropriate slang". If you wish to reorder your
NIKE iD product
with a new personalization please visit us again at nike.com
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
>
> From: "Jonah H. Peretti" To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
>
> Dear NIKE iD,
>
> Thank you for your quick response to my inquiry about my custom
ZOOM XC USA running shoes. Although I commend you for your prompt
customer service, I disagree with the claim that my personal iD was
inappropriate slang. After consulting Webster's Dictionary, I
discovered that "sweatshop" is in fact part of standard English, and
not slang.
>
> The word means: "a shop or factory in which workers are employed
for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions" and its
origin dates from 1892. So my personal iD does meet the criteria
detailed in your first email.
>
> Your web site advertises that the NIKE iD program is "about freedom
to choose and freedom to express who you are." I share Nike's love of
freedom and personal expression. The site also says that "If you want
it done right...build it yourself." I was thrilled to be able to
build my own shoes, and my personal iD was offered as a small token
of appreciation for the sweatshop workers poised to help me realize
my vision. I hope that you will value my freedom of expression and
reconsider your decision to reject my order.
>
> Thank you, Jonah Peretti
>
>
> From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
>
> Dear NIKE iD Customer,
>
> Regarding the rules for personalization it also states on the NIKE
iD web site that "Nike reserves the right to cancel any personal iD
up to 24 hours after it has been submitted". In addition, it further
explains: "While we honor most personal iDs, we cannot honor every
one.
>
> Some may be (or contain) other's trademarks, or the names of
certain professional sports teams, athletes or celebrities that Nike
does not have the right to use. Others may contain material that we
consider
> inappropriate or simply do not want to place on our products.
> Unfortunately, at times this obliges us to decline personal iDs
that may otherwise seem unobjectionable. In any event, we will let
you know if we decline your personal iD, and we will offer you the
chance to
submit another." With these rules in mind, we cannot accept your
order as submitted. If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with
a new personalization please visit us again at www.nike.com
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
>
> From: "Jonah H. Peretti" To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
>
> Dear NIKE iD,
>
> Thank you for the time and energy you have spent on my request. I
have decided to order the shoes with a different iD, but I would like
to make one small request. Could you please send me a color snapshot
of the ten-year-old Vietnamese girl who makes my shoes?
>
> Thanks,
> Jonah Peretti
>
>
>
>
>
> As one forwarder writes:
>
> ... this will now go round the world much farther and faster than
any of the adverts they paid Michael Jordan more than the entire wage
packet of all their sweatshop workers in the world to do...
>
> I normally avoid making a plea to pass on these things, but this
time
> I say: JUST DO IT
>
-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), February 22, 2001.