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Over the years, Nike has faced multiple lawsuits and protests regarding their impact on their workers. In the late 1990s, Nike was facing worldwide protests because the company had been utilizing sweatshops to produce their clothes and products. AS A RESULT of these protests, in 1998, Nike raised the minimum working age to 18. In 2018, Nike faced a lawsuit from a group of former female workers, who claimed that the gender pay gap was around $11,000. These workers claimed that even though the female employees performed equally or better than their male counterparts, they were paid much less. AS A RESULT OF this lawsuit, Nike was forced to show confidential documents, THEREFORE Nike was exposed for their gender pay gap. In 1991, Jeff Ballinger discovered evidence against Nike regarding their unfair payments towards Indonesian workers. SINCE Nike was found to unfair payments to Indonesian workers, they were urged by people to pay every worker the same. Even with these groundbreaking discoveries and lawsuits, Nike remains the world's most popular shoe company.

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Since the start of the company, Nike has faced multiple lawsuits regarding their impact on the environment. Afterward, it was revealed to the public that recycled polyester and recycled nylon, materials in hundreds of their products, were unsustainable. It was found that these materials were forms of plastic, and it didn’t matter if they were recycled, they were still bad for the environment. AS A RESULT of these discoveries, news outlets and influencers are urging consumers to boycott Nike and use other sports companies for their clothes such as Adidas and Champion because these companies are known to be more sustainable than Nike while still being well-known brands. Even after all of these lawsuits regarding Nike’s environmental impact, they still claim that their products are eco-friendly.

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From the start of the marketing era, companies such as Nike have been direct contributors to air pollution. DUE TO major criticism from many people, influencers, and companies regarding Nike’s history of pollution, Nike needed to make a change. IN RESPONSE the criticism and lawsuits, Nike adopted clean air standards in non-U.S factories. IN ORDER TO make their products more sustainable, Nike launched hundreds of products that they claimed were sustainable. However, even though Nike has tried to be sustainable, over the past few years many companies and influencers have recommended to their major audience to use other more sustainable sports brands. Currently, the EU is working to ban greenwashing, they will ban the following; Environmental claims on products without proof, claiming the product is sustainable because the producer is offsetting emissions, sustainability labels on products without approval by public authorities or a certificate, goods that have sustainable features that reduce the quality of the product. The U.S. needs to adopt some of these policies so that companies like Nike, won’t be able to profit off of Greenwashing.

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Will you change your behavior in any way?

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Will you change your behavior in any way?

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Yes, I will change my habits. After reading about companies I use daily, such as Nike, I learned that they are unhealthy for the environment and promote unsafe working conditions. Even though I disagree with Nike’s unsafe habits, I plan to continue buying products that aren’t made with polyester or other plastic-based products. I will research the products I buy to make sure that they are sustainable and good for the future of our Earth. However, I think it would be unreasonable to force anyone to be 100% sustainable because, with the society that we live in currently, almost all products aren’t sustainable to some degree. While it may be possible I think it is very hard to live completely sustainable because nearly all of the products we need either cost a fortune or aren’t sustainable.

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(1962) College athlete Phil Bowerman was inspired to make shoes by the Japanese athletics company, Asics.

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight Created Nike on January 25, 1964. (Formally called Blue Ribbon Sports)

In 1967, the Tiger Cortez shoe was created

In 1971 changed its name to Nike after splitting with Onitsuka (formally known as Asics,)

(1980) Company went public

(1984) Signed Michael Jordan

NBA banned Jordans

End of 1955 sold 100 million dollars worth of Jordans

(1988) Cole Haan acquired the company

(1990) Nike opened stores

(1994-2008) Tried to expand their brand for different sports and bought out multiple companies; including Canstar Sports, Converse, and Umbro

(2014) Launched NikeLab

(2018) Gender pay gap lawsuit

(May 10, 2023) Greenwashing lawsuit

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Nike tries to have zero impact on the environment

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Glassdoor. "Glassdoor Nike Reviews." Glassdoor Nike Reviews, www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/NIKE-Reviews-E1699.htm. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.

Nike. "Nike Sustainability." Nike Sustainability, www.nike.com/sustainability. Accessed 12 Apr. 2024.

Nike, Inc. History. 9 Mar. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/Nike-Inc. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.

Ruvo, Christopher. "'Greenwashing' Lawsuit against Nike Claims Recycled Polyester Apparel Isn't Sustainable." 'Greenwashing' Lawsuit Against Nike Claims Recycled Polyester Apparel Isn't Sustainable, Christopher Ruvo, 11 July 2023, members.asicentral.com/news/newsletters/promogram/july-2023/greenwashing-lawsuit-against-nike-claims-recycled-polyester-apparel-isn-t-sustainable/. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.

Statista. "Nike Annual Revenue." Nike Annual Revenue, Nike, www.statista.com/statistics/241683/nikes-sales-worldwide-since-2004/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2024.

"Stopping Greenwashing in the EU." Stopping Greenwashing in the EU, 15 Jan. 2024, www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.

StudySmarter. "Nike Sweatshop Scandal." Nike Sweatshop Labor Scandal, www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/business-studies/business-case-studies/nike-sweatshop-scandal/#:~:text=Nike's%20sweatshops%20undoubtedly%20violated%20human,the%20rights%20of%20garment%20workers. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.

Tiseo, Ian. "Nike's Sustainable Material." Statista, 9 Jan. 2024, www.statista.com/statistics/861718/share-of-sustainable-materials-in-nike-s-footwear-and-apparel-segments/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

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On May 10, 2023, former Nike customer Maria Guadalupe filed a lawsuit against Nike, claiming that the company has been greenwashing nearly all of their products that they claimed were sustainable. Greenwashing is when a company claims that its products are sustainable and good for the environment when in reality they are produced with unsustainable materials. Guadalupe claimed that out of the 2,452 products that Nike claimed were made with sustainable materials only 239 were sustainable. This lawsuit would be terrible for Nike’s company because they would lose billions of dollars. IN RESPONSE to Maria’s claims, Nike said “A reasonable consumer would not be deceived by Nike’s sustainability assertions given the brand’s explanations and qualifications.” After settling the lawsuit, Nike made multiple business changes to their company. DUE TO THE LAWSUIT, Nike adopted U.S. clean air standards in all non-U.S factories. Even after this lawsuit, the company continues to claim that its products are sustainable.