Nike is one of the world’s largest and most influential athletic apparel companies, but its global dominance is built on layers of exploitation. The brand has a long history of labor rights violations in its supply chain, including unsafe factory conditions, poverty wages, forced overtime, union suppression, and exploitative contracts across countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. Nike has been repeatedly criticized for its continued reliance on outsourced labor, and for failing to adequately audit or reform abusive manufacturing partners.
The company also sources from Delta Galil Industries—an Israeli textile manufacturer with facilities in illegal West Bank settlements. These settlements are considered violations of international law and are part of the infrastructure of military occupation and apartheid. By maintaining business ties with Delta Galil, Nike is directly entangled in the economics of displacement and settler-colonialism.
Nike’s political entanglements extend beyond its supply chain. The company has faced backlash for prioritizing brand control and PR optics over accountability. Despite mounting evidence, Nike has not publicly addressed its ties to Delta Galil or its continued use of exploitative production systems.
Nike remains one of the most visible global apparel brands, which gives consumers significant leverage. Its supply chain has long relied on sweatshop labor, worker intimidation, and poverty wages, often in countries with minimal labor protections. Despite decades of scrutiny, Nike has repeatedly failed to provide living wages or ensure independent unionization rights in its factories. These are not isolated incidents, but systemic practices tied to a high-volume, low-cost production model.
The brand’s link to Delta Galil Industries, an Israeli manufacturer operating in illegal settlements, extends Nike’s harm into the political sphere. By maintaining contracts with companies embedded in the infrastructure of occupation, Nike profits from settler colonialism while shielding itself from accountability. Public pressure campaigns, boycotts, and divestments are one of the few ways to cut through this shield.
As a cultural and economic giant, Nike’s choices help normalize exploitative practices across the fashion industry. Targeting the brand puts pressure on an industry leader whose reputation, market share, and bottom line are all vulnerable to consumer dissent. This makes Nike a high-impact target across labor, environmental, and political justice movements.
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