Jim Keady Challenged Nike, I Encourage You to Do the Same

Jim Keady by Dominique Vitali

In the YouTube clip below, Jim Keady tells us why he won’t buy Nike. I do not buy Nike either, and I especially wouldn’t after seeing this clip. “I found that if you wanted to pick a company that violates the entire ethos of this body of study, Nike would be the perfect study”, said Keady “I would not be a walking billboard for a company that chooses to maximize profit over human dignity.”

I think this is an important message. Pass it on. Things haven’t gotten better. Economics shouldn’t win like this. What we value has got to change. Granted, I don’t buy a ton of sportswear – I do always have at least one pair of sneakers. Even if they were on sale for a dollar, they will never be Nike sneakers again. Maybe all of the brands are bad. I honesty don’t know. If they’re all hurting people maybe that’s how they all get away with it. I don’t want to participate in this kind of endorsement if I can help it.

You can read Jim Keady’s journal outlining the time he was working in the Nike shoe factory, online: Behind the Swoosh

A good article about Jim Keady is in the Village Voice.

I was alerted to this by Tammie Umbel of Shea Terra Organics (good products, I’ve tried many). In her latest newsletter she offers this advice:

“The solution is simple. Treat others as you would want to be treated. One might argue that companies like Nike can offer any salary they want and that these workers can choose to take them or not. Yes, this is true. But we can also choose not to support such systems and to use our purchasing power to elevate the human status worldwide. We can use our purchasing power to promote sustainability on local levels throughout the globe. Take time out to think the next time you need a pair of shoes or underwear. Seek out goods manufactured in America (or locally for our international customers). Seek out goods made from freely traded raw materials.

Before anyone reading this sighs loudly and thinks ‘what a headache’ to have to think about any of this, consider yourself in someone else’s shoes (or lack thereof).

Popularity: 4% [?]