Nike’s Kaepernick ad continues — and tweaks — the tradition of brands commodifying politics. Kaepernick’s ad, and the message he offers, may illuminate the promise of innovative creative forms, including advertising.
Nike and Kaep; Confederacy North; Wages of #MeToo; SCOTUS bait and switch; Chapo Chaps; Requiem for The Voice
When Nike then went on to deny the WRC access to any of its 690 supplier factories, activists feared the undoing of one of their strongest tools for accountability and transparency in the garment industry.
Nike has radically transformed its feminist credentials globally. Few organizations carry as much global power and authority on the economic needs of young poor women as the Nike Foundation, which was founded in 2004 and is led by CEO Maria Eitel, former special media assistant for President George H.W Bush [1]. Under Eitel’s leadership, Nike has turned into a global ‘adolescent girls expert', whose campaigns are endorsed by international women’s rights groups.
For global companies that have shifted production to Southeast Asia's low-cost manufacturing hub, greater cross-boarder labor coordination could mean less room for wage bargaining, a squeeze on profits and maybe even higher price tags on anything from shoes and clothing to cars and electronics appliances. But even as wages rise, labor activists are confident they aren't at risk of pricing themselves out of the market.
Since April 14, 40,000 workers at the Yue Yuen Shoe Factories in Dongguan, Guangdong Provinece have been on strike. They make shoes and sneakers for Salomen, Nike, Asics, Car,and Adidas. Adidas has already begun moving production to another sweatshop.
Low-cost labor has attracted Western brands to the Southeast Asian country and garments now account for around 75 percent of its exports, but strikes over pay and working conditions have become common. Thousands of workers at Sabrina (Cambodia) Garment Manufacturing Corp went on strike for higher pay from May 21.
The Cambodian factory workers were protesting the western sportswear giant in a plea for fairer pay.
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