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| http://www.knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=Nike |
For a
while now PlayFair, an organisation who constantly monitor and fight for the
rights of factory workers, have been publishing reports and storys on how the
workers are getting mistreated. Amoungst many of the major issues surrounding
these work places are; poor pay, long hours and violence.
In a recent story published by The Guardian, we are told that factory workers from some of the top sponsors of the Olympics are getting sexually harassed and beaten. It is claimed that some Adidas workers were paid as little as 9p an hour.
In a recent story published by The Guardian, we are told that factory workers from some of the top sponsors of the Olympics are getting sexually harassed and beaten. It is claimed that some Adidas workers were paid as little as 9p an hour.
In these major companies the bosses have to
make sure their working conditions are up to standard and meet certain legislations.
The work done to produce these final garments and products aren’t always done
in one factory, there are often stages in the production line. Not many companies
will release the names of the suppliers used during this process but this year
Adidas have. Elasteks, a Turkish company
who until recently supplied Adidas factory with material for their socks, has
recently been dropped by the sporting giants. This is because sometime last
year the workers from Elasteks attempted to set up a union against the working
conditions of the factory and demand better ones. The demonstration resulted in
the factory owner sacking the employee’s involved and moving his factory 280
miles away.
So
basically, there are a chain of suppliers Adidas would have released the
suppliers names to a certain level. So a company like Elasteks may not have been
named, but the company they supply to, Gelal, will have been named. So
obviously Gelal would have had to drop any connection to Elasteks so that
Adidas would not suffer. When Gelal were checked out for working conditions
they passed the test, but a source from inside revealed that the company were
still using the remainder of their stock from Elasteks.
According
to a report written by a charity called War on Want, this is a summary of who
these leading sports brands are employing and what they hope to do through the
sponsorship of the 2012 Olympic Games.
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| http://bit.ly/24CRt |
Adidas has spent £100 million on the Olympics,
securing its place as the only official sportswear partner of London 2012. In
return for its financial commitment; Adidas will clothe the 70,000 volunteers
who help run the Games and has the sole rights to produce goods with the
Olympic logo. Adidas hopes to achieve over £100 million in sales from its
Olympic clothing lines alone. More importantly; it hopes to use the boost to
its brand from the Olympics to overtake Nike as the UK’s sportswear market
leader – increasing sales across all of its product lines.
In addition to the partnership with the Games, Adidas is also the official sponsor of Team GB and a range of high profile British athletes including David Beckham, expected to play in the British football team, the 2009 world champion heptathlete Jessica Ennis, tennis player Andy Murray and the current women’s 400 metre Olympic gold medal holder Christine Ohuruogu. Adidas has more than 775,000 workers in 1,200 factories across 65 countries making its products. Almost all of these jobs are outsourced, yet through its code of conduct and its relationships with its suppliers the company has enormous influence over their working conditions, and ultimately their lives.
In addition to the partnership with the Games, Adidas is also the official sponsor of Team GB and a range of high profile British athletes including David Beckham, expected to play in the British football team, the 2009 world champion heptathlete Jessica Ennis, tennis player Andy Murray and the current women’s 400 metre Olympic gold medal holder Christine Ohuruogu. Adidas has more than 775,000 workers in 1,200 factories across 65 countries making its products. Almost all of these jobs are outsourced, yet through its code of conduct and its relationships with its suppliers the company has enormous influence over their working conditions, and ultimately their lives.
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| http://bit.ly/zJTeoS |
Nike is the world’s largest sportswear brand, holding
nearly a third of the global market for athletic footwear, with global sales in
2010/11 totalling over £13 billion, earning the company over £1.3 billion in
profit. It secured its association with the Games through the official
sponsorship of a range of high profile teams including the USA and athletes such
as Mark Cavendish and Paula Radcliffe.
This sponsorship aims to ensure the Nike ‘swoosh’ logo remains instantly recognisable throughout the world. Through its supply chains Nike influences the conditions of more than 800,000 employees in 700 factories across 45 countries.
This sponsorship aims to ensure the Nike ‘swoosh’ logo remains instantly recognisable throughout the world. Through its supply chains Nike influences the conditions of more than 800,000 employees in 700 factories across 45 countries.
highest profile athlete taking part in the 2012 Games as he defends his Olympic 100 metre and 200 metre titles. Puma’s manufacturing is outsourced to over 350 factories, a majority of which are in developing economies, involving around 300,000 workers.
After
being presented with the report written by War on Want, a Puma representative
said that they had found evidence of illegal overtime in one of its supplier
factories named in the report and will be investigating further. Adidas also
released a statement that they were shocked at the allegations made and would
look further into the claims. They said they were “deeply concerned about reports
of harassment or physical abuse of workers” and they were going to be
investigating straight away.
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| http://www.knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=Nike |
So is it
right that sponsorship is going to companies that are allegedly paying their
workers as little as 72p a day? Although these major companies are also doing a
lot of positive things for the Olympics is it still right? It again makes us
question whether sponsorship does just go to the highest bidders.
Read more on the article written by The Guardian in regards to this scandal:
If your headline says "Major sporting sponsors involved in abuse scandal" you need to answer the questions "Who? When? Where? How? Why?" in your first par.
ReplyDeleteDon't ramble in with "When we first think..." - cut to the facts, and leave the background for the later pars. Also, sponsor does not have a capital S.
This needs a lot of editing - splitting pars, linking phrases when you mention articles, not using URLs instead, etc.