Nike Facts

• Nike first went under the name “Blue Ribbon Sports”.
• The name “Nike” comes from the Greek goddess of victory.
• Ilie Nastase, a tennis star, was the first pro athlete to sign with Nike.
• Nike has many marketing names, such as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, Team Starter, and subsidiaries like Bauer, Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse.
• Nike has factories in 45 countries around the world.
• Nike’s first self-designed product was based on Bowerman’s “waffle” design in which the sole of the shoe was made by the pattern of a waffle iron.                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike%2C_Inc.
• Nike has a history of using inhumane labor practices to produce their products.
• Nike has acknowledged these labor problems in the past and has promised to change                   http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/sweatshops/nike/stillwaiting.html
• Nike factories violated local minimum wage laws, payed subsistence wages and illegally forced massive overtime.
• Nike factories subjected workers (90% young women and girls) to criminally dangerous, brutal sweatshops.
• Nike supported military dictatorships that crush labor unions and worker protest.                                                                                                                                 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~lormand/poli/nike/index.html

• Nike FY06 revenues were approximately $15 billion. They are the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic
  athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities.

• Nike produces approximately 50,000 product styles per year.

• Nike sells products in more than 160 countries.

• Nike has approximately 28,000 employees worldwide.

• Almost 800,000 workers are employed in contracted factories around the world making Nike-branded products.

• Nike operations (owned and not directly owned) contribute to approximately 1.36 million tonnes of CO2 annually.     

Global Corporate Responsibility Strategy