The Sportswear Industry : Boom or Gloom ?

Résumé du document

The sportswear industry has witnessed a transition phase in the past few decades. Indeed, the beginning of the 1970s saw the athletic sportswear evolve from specific product lines striving to target and migrate the small and unique markets into mainstream fashion products. The distinct difference between performance and fashion, function and style, formal and informal that once existed has become increasingly blurred. The way of performing in a sport has changed noticeably. It has been observed that playing a sport has turned from the old thought of offense to defence and vice versa to a relaxing activity. Thereby contributing to the all round development of mind and body. Paradoxically sport as an exclusive practice has entered into a different area tending to vanish from being in favor of a multiplicity of sports practices. This evolution has triggered an explosion in sports activities and their diversity makes understanding difficult in today's world. This has left the sportswear market in an arduous situation. Immaterial criteria now seem to have a predominant influence on consumer behavior. Changes in the way of life, the fashion phenomenon and sportspeople like Z. Zidane converting themselves into real "living gods", have elevated the sportswear brand names and brought them into the limelight. The sportswear industry is dominated by a few giants who launch fashion trends and invest aggressively in research and development as well as in advertising and promotion.

Extraits

[...] The answer is to create international regulations that could defend minimum labour standards. In many poor countries, labour regulations are ignored. It is a way to attract foreign investment where labour costs are much lower and legal constraints are virtually non-existent. For instance, in Turkey trade unions are prohibited in free trade zones[24]. Most of the basic rights are codified in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights that all members of the United Nations have signed. Most of the rights contained in the declaration are reflected in international regulations and often, they inspire national legislation. [...]

[...] Their creation has rung alarm bells in many western countries and has increased awareness of the fact that buying sportswear goes much further than expressing taste in fashion; it can be seen as condoning human rights violations Overview of the main organisations Many organisations have been created to defend labour rights in the textile and particularly the sportswear industry. The most famous group is certainly the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC). It was started in the Netherlands in 1990 by several Dutch non government organisations following a protest in 1989 against the poor working conditions of C&A's Asian subcontractors. From 1995, this initiative spread all over Europe. The aim of the CCC is to create codes of practices and to implement virulent campaigns to publicise the unsound practices of famous brands. [...]

[...] Generally the trend is a decline in unit prices, for both athletic footwear and clothing. In a factory in Honduras making T-Shirts for famous brand names, the price paid for a dozen has dropped from US$ 3,70 to 2,85 in three years, i.e. a fall of 23%. This trend has encouraged managers to put pressure on the wages of their employees and this trend has naturally been accompanied by a proportional decrease in the salaries[16] Employees with very precarious working conditions Hiring of casual labour In general, workers are linked to their employers by precarious labour contracts. [...]

[...] Starvation wages 18 d. Employees with very precarious working conditions 19 Hiring of casual labour 19 Pay for piecework 20 Threats of relocation 20 Bullied, humiliated Human rights forgotten??? 21 Trade unions infringed A development of bodies denouncing labour rights violations 22 e. Overview of the main organisations 22 f. A growth of power and influence The Athens Olympics as a bombshell 24 g. Violation of the Olympic spirit 24 h. The Fair Play At The Olympics Campaign Michael Moore: The Big Accusation 26 The response of sportswear industry 26 Conclusion 29 Sources: ANNEXE Chart of the turnover of the main sportswear brand names 31 ANNEXE Journey of an embroidered shirt 33 ANNEXE FLA Workplace Code of Conduct 39 ANNEXE Press Release 09 August ANNEXE The Petition 41 ANNEXE The Petition 42 ANNEXE The Declaration of the Human Rights 44 ANNEXE Adidas Standards of Engagement The sportswear industry has been through major changes in the past decades. [...]

[...] This includes protection from fire, accidents, and toxic substances. Lighting, heating and ventilation systems should be adequate. Employees should have access at all times to sanitary facilities, which should be adequate and clean. The factory must have safety and health policies that are clearly communicated to the workers. These should apply to employee residential facilities, where provided by employers. IV. Environmental Requirements Business partners should aim for progressive improvement in their environmental performance, not only in their own operations, but also in their operations with partners, suppliers and sub contractors. [...]