Why I don't by Nike products...

From The Age:

Nike, the target of sweatshop allegations, has admitted abuses at some of its factories in a comprehensive report on the 700 plants that make its footwear and clothing.

The 108-page report is the first since the company paid $US1.5 million ($A1.9 million) to settle allegations that it had made false claims about how well its workers were treated.

The report, compiled over the past two years, admits to widespread problems, particularly in Nike's Asian factories. It found cases of "abusive treatment", physical and verbal, in more than a quarter of its south Asian plants.

Up to half the factories in the region restricted access to toilets and drinking water during working hours. The report said employees worked more than 60 hours a week in more than half of Nike's factories. Workers refusing to do overtime were punished in up to 25 per cent of factories. Wages were below the legal minimum at up to a quarter of factories.

You can learn more about Nike's corporate conduct at Oxfam.

The thing is, the vast majority of clothing on the rack of the many clothes stores at your local shopping centre are probably assembled by a 10 year old girl in China who quit school so she could work 12 hours a day at 10 cents per hour so that she could help pay for just a little bit of extra rice to feed her starving family. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy doesn't it?

It might seem pretty hopeless, but some people are really seeking to make a difference. And what better opportunity to bring the issue to the fore than the upcoming Olympics in Beijing?