Indonesia

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Indonesia

Behind the Swoosh: Nike Sweat Shops

There are currently thirty countries throughout the world that are manufacturing Nike products. Worldwide, approximately 500,000 people are making Nike products each day. These people work long hours, and walk away with no more than $1.10 per day. This is a very low amount of pay that does not allow them to live a healthy lifestyle. Children are not able to get an education and are just sent into the factories with their parents. This adds to the continuous pattern of poverty that has been around for decades. Living on just over a dollar a day forces these people to have to choose between food, and possibly medicine if they become ill. Being sick also means not being able to work, which would result in an extra day with no food.

Nike has more than a hundred stores throughout the world selling their products, and they wont even put out enough money to just double the salary of their workers. They paid Michael Jordan twenty million dollars just for promoting their products, and that money could have been used to help out workers throughout the world. There are no government regulations to protect the people in the Indonesia sweat shops, which is why these major corporations choose to build their factories in those types of countries. They can get away with paying these people far less than thy deserve, as well as getting no time off. Working long hours is hard enough, and many have to work over time just to make enough money to get by.

Since the government regulations will not change, the companies should do something to help out these people. Whether it means doubling their salaries, or doing something to help out their communities, the level of poverty will not change. Forcing children to work the same long hours as adults with no education, will not promote a better tomorrow, and the problems we have with poverty right now will never change. Something must be done to fix this cycle of harsh poverty.

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