homepage - programs - environmental law - lawsuits - challenging nike’s greenwashing
Challenging Nike’s Greenwashing
Case Updates:
October 1, 2003
Nike announced in September that it will settle a case brought by activist Marc Kasky claiming that Nike lied about the conditions in its overseas factories to boost its corporate image and sales. Nike will donate $1.5 million to the Fair Labor Association, a sweatshop watchdog group. The settlement marks the end of a five-year long case in which the Sierra Club appeared before the Supreme Court as an amicus on behalf of Kasky to argue in favor of a California law which helps prevent corporations from using false statements to boost sales.
May 1, 2003
The Nike Corporation is embroiled in a dispute over its treatment of labor that has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case originated in California when an individual activist sued Nike for falsely claiming to provide good wages and working conditions to thousands of overseas laborers, many of them adolescent girls, who toil in Nike's sneaker factories. Nike has raised the First Amendment as a defense, claiming that its false statements were public debate, not company advertising. The Club has weighed in at the Supreme Court with a brief stressing the need for corporate accountability and the dangers of "greenwashing" posed by Nike's arguments. A team of Environmental Law Program attorneys prepared the amicus, assisted by professors from several law schools.
Details and Documents:
More Info:
See other "Safeguarding Communities" cases.