Ethics

Ethics

Ethics

Introduction

Love those Nike shoes you're wearing? Have you ever thought how they were made, who made them, and at what price they were made at? I bet you probably don't. I bet that you see those Nike shoes at the store, and think to yourself, “oh I like those shoes, I have to have them,” and then buy them. What you don't know is that those pair of shoes you just bought were probably made in a third world factory by employees who are probably working in harsh working conditions. These factories are not owned and operated by Nike, but contracted by Nike. Nike chooses to locate the majority of their production in such countries because of the abundance of cheap labor. Nike contracts factories around the world in effort to get the best product for the cheapest price made, without concern for contracted factory employee. Nike has not been concerned about what goes on in these factories only that the product is made, because Nike is not in the business for Human Rights, they're in the business of athletic shoes sales.

This is the case for a major corporation like Nike Inc. who is the biggest shoe company in the world; they employ their labor in Indonesia, China and more recently moved into Vietnam. Vietnam and Indonesia are developing countries and have no protective labor practices and labor unions have been outlawed (Rachels, 2003, Pp12). This gives Nike the right to claim they are doing nothing illegal but this poses the argument of whether Nike should take acting “morally” as responsibility or a right since morals are judged by public opinion as suggested by Lee (2008). In the early 1990's Nike fired almost all its workers in the US and moved its workforce to the low-waged Asian producers and has since taken advantage of them.

Nike's website stated that they will be investing a minimum of $315 million in grants for greater access to sports over the next three years (Nike website, 2008). This just seems more like a 'show' to look responsible to the world. Nike cannot give its worker's a wage that will provide them with a three-square meal but it wants to lavish money on areas that are not basic needs like survival, this portrays Nike as being a hypocrite. In favour of Nike, providing women and young children with jobs even though with less than minimum wage can be seen as a safer option than the women [who could engage in] prostitution and child trafficking which is on the rise in places like Vietnam. On this point, whether or not it is to be acknowledged, the truth is Nike is providing these vulnerable women and young children with an alternative and an opportunity not to engage in these illegal activities. (Rachels, 2003, Pp12)

The Ethical Dilemma

Nike has been accused with human rights violations. The charges that were made against Nike include the following: the use of child labor in factories, unsafe working conditions including ...