A human rights organization would vehemently disagree with the self-interested shareholder supporters of sweatshops and state that merely because workers are desperate and are willing to accept lower wages is no reason for Nike to take advantage of such desperation. Nike keeps wages low, rather than driving them up in the context of the local economy. For only a few pennies more, Nike could pay the workers a much fairer wage, and if American consumers were only willing to pay a bit more, the overall economic health of the developing world might be improved. Also, by using the developed world as a source of cheap labor, no local industry and entrepreneurship is stimulated -- local industries cannot compete against Nike, and Nike essentially uses the developing nation as a colonial outpost, rather than makes a contribution to the nation's economic progress by building its infrastructure like a local company might...
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