Nike Csr

Adama, Hamim

NIKE’s CSR Challenge

The apparel industry depends on outsourcing a vast amount of their manufacturing to foreign countries. The industry which is so frequently criticized for violations in labor laws, is trying its possible best to embrace the watchword of “transparency”. The major problem they face is the size of their manufacturers themselves and the hierarchy that exists between the managers involved in the negotiation process and those who are actually involved in the labor itself. Opening case narrates “Primark announced in JUNE 2008 that it had fired three suppliers in India after it was found that they had subcontracted to homeworkers who used child labor”. This violation was by the company subcontracting to another firm. Robert Welford said “companies need to get suppliers to recognize that adhering to sound employment practices is in their own interest and help suppliers develop policies and practices for a long term.” The supplier has to wake up to the reality that maintaining good employment policies will mean good business.

The effect it has on the business of apparel organizations is also great, in the case of Primark, they entire supply chain was affected which will mean reorganization and building a new supply chain. The pressure from the community, the stakeholders and the NGO’s which leads to boycotts in their products. Nike who has very openly been transparent and taking responsibility from a social standpoint has still suffered boycotts. This makes the question for the MNC’s profit vs. sacrifices for ethics and social responsibility. A great driving force that is being undermined in this case has to be the ‘human bias, people will always say one thing and do another.

“Consumers are not rewarding us for investments in improved social performance in supply chain”, the representative referred to how their image was suffering to the consumers, she further said “like other companies they have realized that the...