Nike's Impact On The United States

Nike, formally known as Blue Ribbon Sports, was founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman, a track and field coach from the University of Oregon, along with Phil Knight, a former student of Bill Bowerman. The company was renamed Nike in 1978. The Nike “Swoosh” logo is one of the most recognized logo’s around the world. With annual sales over $16 million and around $1.5 billion in annual profits, Nike is one of the giants in sports apparel business. Nike started outsourcing manufacturing to South Korea in 1970. The untapped markets across the globe presented several benefits. There was the labor aspect in which cheap labor could produce shoes and other clothing at a fraction of the price it would cost in the United States. Because Nike can

However, Nike’s outsourcing brought on much criticism. Not only did they get criticized for the effects on the U.S. economy and loss of jobs but foremost, labor conditions in some of these overseas factories were questioned by anti-sweatshop activists claiming workers were being exploited and abused. Activists encouraged many college campuses to boycott Nike shoes and clothing and tried to pressure the athletic departments to not sign deals with Nike for team apparel. Scrutiny turned into accusations of false advertisement. Nike was accused of “exploiting false facts to promote commercial ends.” (Shaw, 2011) Kantian ethics argues that each person should be treated as valuable and should never be used simply to satisfy the needs of others. Kant would not believe that the ability for sweatshop workers to avoid other jobs, to receive income is a morally justifiably excuse for oversea factories to exploit workers. Forcing sweatshop employees to work long, exhausting, dangerous shifts for low wages is not treating them as valuable. Mill forced companies to consider the well-being of ordinary people. Mill would have been appalled at Nike’s treatment of workers. For Mill, people need to be given safe working conditions, holidays, education for children etc. All of this is part of bringing about their happiness. From Rawls perspective, the perspective of the poorest of the poor, the moral thing sympathetic students can do is not boycott against Nike, but buy its shoes so as to give the workers a better