Six months after Nike announced initiatives to improve
working conditions in its subcontractors' factories
overseas, the company's "progress ... yields a mixed
review," according to Bruce Gilley of FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC
REVIEW. For example, Nike's decision to use local groups
for inspection of Indonesian plants, instead of "more
aggressive" int'l ones, has "led some to question" the
company, but Nike "has moved positively" on some issues,
such as factory air quality. Press For Change's Jeff
Ballinger, a Nike critic, said the company "isn't out of the
woods yet." Ballinger: "People and reporters are still
going to Asia to cover this issue. Nike [has] just bought
themselves some time." Gilley writes that Nike "will have
to do more if it's to keep its critics at bay," especially
concerning workers wages. Nike, which put "pressure on its
rivals" to also become more socially responsible, must
"maintain progress" or its "new, squeaky-clean image may
soon tarnish" (FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW, 12/10).
WOOD WORKING: Nike has joined 20 other major U.S.
companies in backing the Coastal Rainforest Coalition's
pledge not to use or sell products made with old-growth wood
(AP, 12/8). In Salt Lake City, Brent Israelsen reported
that 2002 Winter Olympic sponsors Home Depot and AT&T are
"among seven Fortune 500 companies targeted by" the CRC for
"inaction" concerning the ancient rainforest cause. Olympic
sponsors are "not required ... to be held to any specific
environmental standards" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 12/9).
