Links Students Give Sweatshop Fight the College Try Campus protesters nationwide demand to know where their schools' collegiate apparel is made and call for fair treatment of workers. Last month, after months of refusal, Nike agreed conditionally to provide locations of factories that produce collegiate clothing, and urged other manufacturers to follow its lead. It really is quite sick. Industry leaders take issue with such characterizations, arguing that their global factories create needed jobs and give the world's poorest economies a chance to grow.
Manufacturers say they pay local prevailing wages or better.
And even student critics concede that in many countries, U.S.-built plants offer better conditions than others. Nike, of course, is not solely responsible for that, but we have been part of that process and we are proud of it and not ashamed of it. The worst thing is the pay. That might be OK if it was cheaper to live there, but it's not. Benjamin-Gomez made the trip in September with her mother, longtime San Francisco human rights activist Medea Benjamin.