Before people buy a product, such as a pair of shoes, they don’t think of the background of how the shoes came to be. Rather, the style and quality of the shoes are what people are concerned about.

The famous shoe brand, Nike, has been accused of regulating a sweatshop for a long time. Although Nike shoes are well known for supporting athletes, training and just simply making a person “look good,” it has damaged its reputation by abusing its employees.. Pictures of employees in hard labour are revealed as they were forced to work overtime, rejected access to water and bathroom and verbally and physically abused. It is also disturbing to discover that these sweatshops mostly run in poor asian countries where people halfway around the world wouldn’t be concerned about.

Therefore, Nike fails to follow the business ethics. It pays its employees lower than the minimum wage and sells its materials for a very high price in the more developed countries. Many people are not aware of this situation and thinks of Nike as nothing but a high quality, famous brand. As economists say “producers act independently to pursue their own self-interests.”

Article Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/apr/14/ethicalbusiness.money

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