The White House declined to comment on why President Obama is choosing to promote trade at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., later this week despite the athletic apparel company’s history of exploiting low labor standards abroad.
“I would refer you to Nike for specific criticisms that you have outlined there,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily briefing Wednesday.
Earnest went on to tout the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive trade deal with 12 countries Obama is promoting as a way to expand U.S. exports and combat China’s economic influence in the region.
“The president is looking forward to visiting the Nike headquarters and using it to illustrate how a responsible trade agreement that includes tough labor and environmental standards would benefit American businesses and American workers,” he said.
Pressed further to discuss the reasons behind Nike’s selection for a presidential trip, Earnest again demurred, promising more information during the Friday visit.
During its rise over the last fifty years, Nike has made extensive use of outsourcing manufacturing and using the money it saved by employing low-wage overseas workers to maintain expansive marketing campaigns.
In the 1990s human rights activists targeted the company for public shame over its low overseas wages and poor working conditions. The protests and bad publicity tarnished the company and hurt sales.
In 1999, Nike created the Fair Labor Association, a non-profit group that establishes independent monitoring and a code of conduct, including a minimum working age and a 60-hour work week.
It began to audit its factories in the early 2000s and a few years later became the first in the athletic apparel industry to publish a complete list of the factories it contracts with and has continued to post its commitments, standards and audit data of its corporate social responsibility reports.
Problems, however, remain. The Worker Rights Consortium, a non-profit group partially funded by universities that monitors factories producing college-athletic gear, has published reports on 16 Nike suppliers since 2006, accusing the companies of violations of overtime and worker abuse, according to the Wall Street Journal.
