Low Rating for Nike, other Industry Leaders on Labour Rights

Major sportswear brands have taken insufficient action in recent years to improve wages and working conditions for those who produce their goods, this despite making positive statements at the time of the 2008 Olympics about cleaning up an industry rife with worker rights violations, says the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC).

Decent Work Still a Dream for Sportswear Workers

On the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics the CCC and other labour rights organisations have launched a new website to rate the commitments companies have made to implement real change for sportswear workers. Campaigners are inviting the public to contact key brands to challenge them on their poor efforts.

“We’ve taken stock of what companies like Nike, adidas, Asics and others have done to deal with issues like poverty wages and repression of the right to unionise and it’s clear that almost no steps forward have been made since Beijing 2008,” said Jeroen Merk of the CCC International Secretariat. “Responsible corporate behaviour means implementing a living wage for workers and ensuring that they can safely speak out when they have workplace grievances. So far, we’re still waiting.”

CCCs in Europe, the Maquila Solidarity Network in Canada, and other labour rights organisations active in the Play Fair campaign have launched an online advertising campaign to draw attention to the failure of the sportswear industry to sufficiently address ongoing labour problems in the production of their merchandise.

Sportswear companies have been rated based on their response to a series of demands put forward by the Play Fair 2008 campaign. To read the company ratings and view the ads, see www.clearingthehurdles.org.

The Clean Clothes Campaign works with over 200 partner organisations worldwide to improve working conditions and support empowerment of workers in the global garment industry. The Campaign has offices in 13 European countries.