The image at the top of this article is a Nike product, the “swoosh” clearly visible. I’m sure most of our readers would remember the savaging dealt to Nike in the 90s in the media, in the classroom, in the university cafeteria, and anywhere where people regarded themselves as socially aware. These days, the popular target is Apple, partly as a result of the well-publicised suicides at the Hon Hai factories in China which churn out Apple’s bestselling and stylish industrial designs. Regardless, “sweatshops” have been getting a bad name for a very long time: the name was coined in the 19th century, and then as now the clothing industry has been a major culprit in their use.
