Cultural Revolution When Nike founder Phil Knight first traveled to China in 1980, before Beijing could even ship to U.S. ports, the country was just emerging from the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. By the mid-'80s, Knight had moved much of his production to China from South Korea and Taiwan. But he saw China as more than a workshop. "There are 2 billion feet out there," former Nike executives recall his saying. "Go get them!". The Chinese responded (the goal was "to hook kids into Nike early and hold them for life"): sales through the 1990s picked up 60% a year. Here's how Phil Knight did it. Print page for main link here
posted by matteo on Oct 29, 2004 - 8 comments

You know those exploited Nike workers in Indonesia we hear so much about? Good news and bad news: the good news is, a bunch of 'em aren't being exploited anymore. The bad news is, it's because they were laid off.

Local manufacturers blame the soft economy on the WTC attacks, so yes, even this ends up being a WTC post. You cannot escape.
posted by gimonca on Oct 8, 2001 - 3 comments

life cycle of an internet meme: a timeline of the nike "sweatshop" e-mails jonah and i have updated the original sweatshop page at shey.net to also run a sidebar timeline noting the spread of the idea around the world, as tracked through links on the web and stories in conventional media. justin time, too, since adbusters, the nation, and abcnews all put up stories about the e-mails today. and we thought it had peaked.
posted by moth on Apr 2, 2001 - 6 comments

Want to avoid sweatshop shoes? Buy Nike. So says Peter Singer. Same applies to the other favourite targets of the "No Logo" activists. Which raises a curious irony: what happens when a corporation you've habitually demonised starts listening to to its critics? Is it possible to rehabilitate a Big Bad Brand?
posted by holgate on Mar 26, 2001 - 22 comments

So Shey tried to order a pair of Nike's from their custom shop with the word "sweatshop" on them. They refused three times, listing a new excuse every time. I smell a great culture jamming project. My suggestion? Let's all go do the same.
posted by fraying on Feb 4, 2001 - 30 comments