Nike
Truth be told, I have not been a very big fan of Nike for many years. This has been primarily due to their business practices where their endorsements pay a single athlete more than the entire annual payroll of a Southeast Asian manufacturing facility. For example, Tiger Woods, over a course of 27 years, has been paid approximately US$500 million by Nike. See: https://golf.com/news/how-much-nike-contributed-tiger-woods-fortune/
Conversely, Nike's factory employees in Southeast Asia are typically paid about US$3.50 per day, and they are often not paid the agreed upon wages. See: https://cleanclothes.org/news/2023/nike-board-executives-under-fire and https://www.maquilasolidarity.org/en/nike-and-ramatex-should-pay-workers-in-cambodia.
There are some valid reasons for low pay in these countries. Imagine the chaos if Nike and other Western companies paid US/EU wages in a region where few people make US/EU minimum wages. For reference, the Federal minimum wage in the US is $7.25/hour. See: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/minimumwage. In Europe, the minimum wage varies greatly, but even the lowest minimum wages are higher than what the average Southeast Asian factory pays Nike workers. See: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Minimum_wage_statistics.
Keep in mind that an MD in Vietnam makes approximately US$46,000/year. See: https://www.erieri.com/salary/job/medical-doctor/vietnam. In California, a full-time fast food worker can make almost this much (~US$40,000), as the minimum wage for fast food workers in California is $20.00/hour. See: https://www.gov.ca.gov/ The California basic minimum wage is $16.00/hour. See: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm.
An entire book can be written on the business ethics of Western companies and the amounts they pay to their Southeast Asian factory workers. Keep in mind, that many electronics and other goods are manufactured in Southeast Asian countries for extremely low rates of pay.
The point of my post is this: Nike made an incredible advertisement with their "Find Your Greatness" advertising campaign! It can be viewed here: Nike: Find Your Greatness (youtube.com)
Unfortunately, Nike still needs to find their greatness in paying their apparel workers an adequate wage in a safe working environment.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.maquilasolidarity.org/en/nike-and-ramatex-should-pay-workers-in-cambodia
