Nike: “Just pay it”

Big corporations and Brand names like Nike will NEVER put their profit in the hands of cheap labourers who make their clothes, right? Wrong!

In the past Nike has always blamed their sub contractors for abusing the human rights of their labourers. In fact most high street labels and big brands do that. BUT that is all about to change. Nike is going to pay $1.5 million to help workers abruptly laid off last year by 2 subcontractors in Honduras.

This is only happening as the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) demanded that Nike stop blaming their subcontractors and take responsibility for the workers who had been laid off.

A lot of brands and high street shops that use sweatshops will often blame their “sub contractors” (the people who supply to the brand/high street shop) saying that they can’t control how their sub contractors behave.

However in April, University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor, Biddy Martin made the school the first to end a licensing agreement with Nike, which means that Nike can no longer produce their apparel. She said “Nike had violated its code of conduct, which requires university licensees to be responsible for their subcontractors.”

And only after the USAS launched the “just pay it” campaign against Nike did they take responsibility of their supply chain. If Nike hadn’t taken action then the schools and universities would not carry on buying from Nike.

A lot of people think that the brands and labels are in control and no matter what we do they will always exist and carry on. We forget that we have the POWER- if we stopped buying their products they would not exist. We are the consumers and these brands will do anything to make sure we keep buying from them. So we’d might as well use that power we have to influence Nike and change an underpaid garment workers life!

We can show the brands and labels we- the consumers will not stand for unethical treatment of workers. The United Students Against Sweatshops have made a difference.

Can you? Find out how you can do something different