Images of spoiled athletes, dissembling shoe executives and exploited workers have caused overpriced shoes to lose their luster. For years, Nike made outrageous claims that its sweatshops had prepared the way for development in Taiwan and South Korea and were poised to do the same for Indonesia, Vietnam and China. As the International Monetary Fund frantically tries to prop up the falling currencies of the region, Nike no longer has anything to gain from linking itself to economic events in Asia. The company has lost an important rationale for its sweatshop practices. Although currency devaluations in Asia will save Nike a bundle in labor costs, the weakness of Asian currencies means that Nike can no longer count on increased Asian markets to offset the slippage in domestic sales.
Public awareness sharpens.
Most people simply ignored it. Others quickly understood that the report was nothing more than a student project emanating from what is arguably the most politically conservative campus in the country. As job anxiety grows in the developed world and as the Asian crisis spreads, the public is increasingly aware that something is rotten in many more places than Denmark. In the United States a year or two ago, only a small activist core thought or talked much about the International Monetary Fund. Now, mainstream media stories raise doubts about this phenomenally important international financial institution.