Working conditions in first and third world garment shops continues to be a focus of the Clinton administration, with Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich saying October 3 he would like to see U.S. footwear and apparel companies put in place programs to monitor worker conditions.
Meanwhile, Nike has apparently turned down an invitation from Reebok International CEO Paul Fireman to jointly create an independent third-party monitoring system. Instead, Nike says it will continue to work with a coalition of "anti sweatshop" companies, which came into being this summer at the urging of Reich.
In addition, Nike announced it would create its own in-house program to monitor worker conditions in its subcontractors around the world.
Nike and other manufacturers have generated considerable discussion surrounding their practice of subcontracting much of the production of their products to overseas companies, some of whom have been accused of abusing underage workers and providing sub-standard working conditions.