Nike and the Bangladesh Accord

November 21, 2013

Dear Colleagues,

A number of universities have asked the WRC whether the policy on Bangladesh that we recently recommended to affiliates would apply to Nike.

As you know, the recommended policy is to require licensees to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, if they have sourced university logo goods from Bangladesh in calendar 2013. Nike has, in multiple communications in recent weeks, told the WRC that it ceased producing university logo goods in Bangladesh in 2012 – even though the factory data reported by CLC continued to list Nike collegiate factories in the country into 2013. Having discussed the issue with Nike at length, consulted with CLC and interviewed workers at the factories in question, it is our conclusion that Nike did indeed stop sourcing collegiate products from Bangladesh prior to 2013. The worker interviews are of particular relevance, since workers are an independent source. Thus, the policy the WRC has recommended would not apply to Nike.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the communication.

Best,

Scott

Scott Nova 
Worker Rights Consortium 
5 Thomas Circle NW, 5th Floor
Washington DC 20005 
ph 202 387 4884 
fax 202 387 3292 
[email protected] 
www.workersrights.org