S.F.-based Global Exchange "plans demonstrations in 50
U.S. cities on Saturday," to protest Nike's labor practices
in Asia, according to USA TODAY's Melanie Wells. The
"watchdog group" hopes to "hit Nike where it will hurt: On
college campuses." Meanwhile, Nike is running ads today in
college newspapers across the U.S. that urges students and
administrators to visit its Web site where it gives details
of its action against factory abuses overseas. Wells adds
that Nike is also planning to hand out fliers at some
protests (USA TODAY, 10/17). In DOONESBURY, Gary Trudeau
continues his week-long focus on Nike and mentions
Saturday's "Nike Awareness Day" (THE DAILY).
NIKE RESPONSE: Nike released preliminary findings from
a study conducted by a faculty/MBA student team at
Dartmouth's Tuck School on worker's spending patterns in
Vietnam and Indonesia. The study indicates that Nike
contract factory workers can meet basic needs and have some
income for discretionary spending and savings (Nike).
NIKE BOYCOTT: In Boston, GLOBE columnist Derrick
Jackson writes on Nike under the header, "Running From
Nike," that he and his wife "have boycotted Nike for years."
Jackson: "Nike is one of the world's greatest examples of
legal consumer fraud. Nike gets people to think a pair of
shoes makes them worth a million dollars. It gets them to
forget that the shoe workers are often treated as if they
have no worth at all" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/17).
