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http://www.sott.net/article/282785-Corporate-love-Nike-legally-adopts-thousands-of-undocumented-immigrant-children said:

Beaverton, Oregon - Nike, one of the world's largest shoe and apparel makers, has also proven that it possesses one of the world's largest and most loving hearts by legally adopting over 12,000 undocumented immigrant children who were being detained on the U.S./Mexico border.

The children, most of whom are between ages 6 and 16, came to this country from Central American nations such as Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador seeking better opportunities and a loving family life, which is just what Nike will provide, according to Chairman Phil Knight.

"Nike has always been focused on making children's lives better," says Knight, "Traditionally, we have done that by providing state-of-the art footwear that gives kids a greater sense of self-worth. Now, by adopting these kids, we can do so much more."

Knight says the children will be housed on a compound outside Washington County, where they will be provided with an education and job training.

"We're going to help these kids prepare to be productive members of American society," Knight says, "By the time they reach adulthood they will all have marketable skills."

Knight adds that all the children have legally changed their surnames to Nike, and that their well being will be overseen by a special child welfare division the company has just launched. Knight also says that Nike will be moving all overseas production back to the U.S.

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_http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=358 said:

Child Trafficking Abroad
by Mark Dalessio - Jan 2014

Most people believe child slave labor to be working in factories for long hours but they never realize how they get there. One of the many ways that children get into these sweat shops or big name brand companies like Nike is through Child trafficking. Child trafficking is present in almost every country even in the U.S. but it is rarer then it is in other countries. Like ones in the Middle East or in Africa. These children that are trafficked are used for many things that could be used as workers, sex slaves, and even sold to another family through adoption. Although Child trafficking is present it is present in some major countries like China, Haiti, and Russia.

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_http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=372 said:

The Evils of Sporting Goods
by Matthew Bickel - Jan 2014

When the term child slavery is mentioned, people think back to many years ago but the sad facts are that child slavery very much exists today. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that the global number of children in child labor has declined one third since 2000 from 246 million to 168 million children.1 One in six children 5 to 14 years old or about 16% of all children in this age group is involved in child labor in developing countries. More than half of them are in hazardous working conditions. Before purchasing any products, specifically, sporting goods items, check to make sure these companies are not using child slave labor. Supporting them is saying we agree with their practices.

Child labor is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that it is harmful to physical and mental development. Work that interrupts a child’s schooling; not allowing them to attend or having to leave early, work that can be harmful to children that is either physically, mentally, socially or morally dangerous and harmful can be classified as child labor.

Child slavery crosses many facets of goods and services. Child slavery is used by the agricultural sector (60%), such as hunting, forestry and fishing, the industry sector (7%) which includes mining, manufacturing, construction and public utilities and the services sector (26%) in areas like transport, restaurants, hotels and other non-defined services (7%).

Football: Stitching and Clothing & Shoes

Child labor in the area of football stitching is still used in places such as Pakistan and India. The largest producer of the football is Pakistan with India coming in as the second largest. Sporting clothes and shoes are made in countries such as Indonesia, China and Vietnam. There is a report from the year 2000 that states it is believed that about 10,000 children in Punjab, India alone stitch footballs and the ILO Sialkot Project suggests more than 15,000 stitch footballs in Pakistan.

There are two types of child slave labor statuses. There are those children that go to school during the day and stitch after school. Then there are other children that stitch footballs all day long. Children that should be studying or playing outside, instead are exhausted and do not do well in school. Of all the full-time working children in India, thirty-seven percent are between the ages of five through twelve years old.

The money earned for stitching footballs is less than a dollar for an adult and even less for a child slave worker.

As a result of all the bad press about child slavery in the sporting goods industry, they are trying to put an end to it. The Sports Goods Foundation India was launched by the Federation of Sports Goods Industry and endorsed by FIFA. The goals of the organization are to improve the working conditions for adults and removing children from having to work.

In addition to football stitching, there are large numbers of children exposed to child labor slavery to make soccer balls and volley balls.

Nike - What You May Not Know

One of the largest companies that violate humane working conditions is Nike. Nike produces most of its shoes elsewhere in East Asia, in places such as Japan, South Korea,
and Taiwan; until labor costs began to rise where they then located the factories to China, Thailand and Indonesia. Nike also has sweatshops in Vietnam and Pakistan.

Nike outsources the production of many of their products because they feel it benefits the company from a financial standpoint. However, it is not beneficial to the workers because they are exploited by the poorly run factories they must work in and the poor wages they receive.
Nike has stated that the work places are always regulated, the truth is, they are only checked out a few times a year. In addition to the terrible working conditions, the workers are not given proper training or have the right safety equipment to wear. They are exposed to toxic glues and chemicals, are paid $1.60 a day when $3.00 a day is needed to survive and they are expected to work 60 to 70 hours a week. Nike not only abuses adults in their barbaric ways but children are also used to make the products and exposed to the same working conditions.

Nike signed a pledge to stop using workers in hazardous situations in 1998, after denying any abuse that the workers faced. Since then, Nike has not followed through with their agreement and routinely turns a blind eye to these sweatshops. This kind of promise is something the company that is sincerely trying to make sure that all of the labor that goes into their products is fair and just. Nike has chosen not to do anything about this.

Nike continues to use sweatshops in countries such as Asia and does not regulate these sweatshops in any way. Their “mission” of offering jobs to those in developing nations that have high poverty rates is just a facade for saving the company money.



Adidas – Nike is not alone

Nike is not the only sporting good company that uses child slave labor. Adidas is also a culprit in that clothes for the company were made in two factories using child labor. These children were forced to work overtime and were often victims of sexual harassment.

Representatives of workers in two Indonesian factories supply the German company will state that children as young as fifteen were made to work fifteen hour days, were expected to do at least seventy hours a week and punished if they refused overtime, paid less than sixty dollars a month and penalized for taking leave during medical difficulties and had illegal deductions taken from their wages as punishment.
A quote that seems to sum up how some regarded child slavery

…And the man had need of the children,
He gathered them in like sheep
And set them to work to earn his bread,
For children are many—and cheap.

Child slavery is a serious issue, not only in the past, but in today’s society. It affects so many children in many different countries and industries. The sporting goods industries, such as Nike and Adidas, in the manufacturing of sporting good clothes and equipment are not different in its’ use of child slavery. They put children in harmful situations every day and deprive them of their childhood. Before deciding to purchase items from Nike or Adidas or other sporting goods companies, please consider their child slavery practices. Buying their products helps support these companies in their child slavery efforts. By increasing the product demand for these companies using child labor could mean more child labor, more slavery, more sweatshops and discouraging education. By encouraging more child labor, we are taking away a youngster’s years of a childhood and their right to be free and educated. The children making these products should be on the other end of the process and should be enjoying wearing the clothes made by these companies or playing with the products.

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_http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=388 said:

Modern Day Slave Labor in Mexico:
by Michelle Mautone - Jan 2014

“Mexico is a large source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Groups considered most vulnerable to human trafficking in Mexico include women, children, indigenous persons, persons with mental and physical disabilities, and undocumented migrants. Mexican women and children are exploited in sex trafficking within Mexico and the United States, lured by fraudulent employment opportunities or deceptive offers of romantic relationships. Mexican men, women, and children also are subjected to conditions of forced labor in agriculture, domestic service, construction, and street begging, in both the United States and Mexico.”

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery. It involves controlling a person through force, fraud, or cruelty to abuse the victim for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or both. Human trafficking strips victims of their freedom and violates our nation’s promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights. It is also a crime. The purpose of Human Trafficking is exploitation, which includes exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs. Under the new law, any sex work involving girls under the age of 18 qualifies as Human Trafficking.

Who are the victims of Human Trafficking?

There is not one consistent face of trafficking victim. Trafficked persons in the United States can be men or women, adults or children, foreign nationals or US citizens. Some are well-educated, while others have no formal education. While anyone can become a victim of trafficking, certain populations are especially vulnerable. These may include: undocumented migrants; runaway and homeless youth; and oppressed, marginalized, and/or impoverished groups and individuals. Traffickers specifically target individuals in these populations because they are vulnerable to recruitment tactics and methods of control. Many people from different backgrounds are susceptible to this form of slavery. However, those in poverty are more vulnerable to Human Trafficking.

“Like many victims of human trafficking, Marcela was tricked into the sex trade by a man she thought she could trust. She met him in her small hometown in Veracruz state when she was 16. Posing as a wealthy businessman, he asked for her hand in marriage, promising a comfortable lifestyle. Instead he took her to the Merced neighborhood of Mexico City, a hotbed for prostitution. She was kept under duress in a hotel room and forced to have sex with up to 40 men a day, who paid $15 each to her so-called boyfriend and his accomplices. Girls suffering from human trafficking are often kept under such conditions for years. However, after a week, police raided the hotel, and Marcela defied the threats from the traffickers to testify in court, sending them to prison. “When it was happening, I just blocked it out, as it was so painful,” says Marcela, who asked that her name be changed. “It took me a long time to regain any confidence in myself, to rebuild my life.””

Who are the culprits behind Human Trafficking?

Gangs like the Zetas are involved in human trafficking. The Drug Cartels organize most of Mexico’s smuggling systems through which victims are moved. They also take money from pimps and brothels operating in their territories. Prosecution documents show many cases where the Drug Cartel members have in fact confessed to murdering pimps who crossed them or burning down establishments that refused to pay their “quota.”
70% of sex trafficking cases were linked to drug gangs.

What Laws are in place to persecute those participating in trafficking?

The government of Mexico has increased law enforcement efforts and approved a new anti- Trafficking law in June 2012 that obligates states to adjust their anti- trafficking legislation to be in line with the National legislation. The law prohibits all forms of Human Trafficking with penalties of 5- 30 years of imprisonment for those convicted of sexual exploitation and abuse Mexico's lower house generally passed an anti-human-trafficking bill that establishes preventative and punitive measures and provides aid to victims of that crime. The law creates a fund to offer care to victims.

The head of the Special Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, Congresswoman Rosi Orozco of the governing National Action Party said the bill goes after the entire chain of exploitation, from the people who deceive victims to those who hold them against their will and abuse them and even clients of sexual services.5
"Not one more victim will have to endure injustice; the entire chain of exploitation will be punished and comprehensive care will be provided to victims to ensure their social reinsertion," Orozco said.

What is being done to abolish Human Trafficking in Mexico?

According to U.S. department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2013, Mexico is considered to be a Tier 2 country. Tier 2 countries are those whose government's do not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's (TVPA) minimums standards, but are making significant effort to be in submission with those standards. The TVPA defines a human trafficking victim as a person forced to perform labor or a profited sex act through force. The TVPA enhances pre-existing criminal penalties in other related laws, affords new protections to trafficking victims and makes available certain benefits and services to victims of severe forms of trafficking once they become certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) is a federal law passed in 2000 by the U.S. Congress. It presents protections for persons in the country illegally who may be victims of human trafficking.

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gdpetti said:

Made that mistake the other day until checking the subject heading... that article on Nike's adoption of kids was in the joke section... though the parallels with reality got my attention... it made it seem that they had indeed 'come out of the closet', 'crossed the Rubicon' and whatnot.... but though they exploit labor, adult and children, and let's face it, 'civilization' as we know it is renowned for this activity... so Nike shouldn't be gifted with so much 'love'... just yet anyway. ;D

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