Offside! Labour rights and sportswear production in Asia

This is an analysis of the labour rights track record of 12 major sportsbrands regarding sportswear production in Asia. The report highlights the unfair play inherent in this industry where, for example, Nike pays USD$16million a year to the Brazilian National Team and Adidas pays USD$1.8million a year to French player Zinedine Zidane while the workers who produce the football and sportsgear worn by these players earn as little as 47cents euro per hour. The paper examines the labour rights track record of each company and highlights where they could do more to protect basic worker rights and improve the work environment for thousands employed in this industry. It does this while also acknowledging the fact that some of these companies are currently engaged in positive initiatives to achieve these aims. The report employs a case study approach and is based on interviews and written inputs from representatives of unions and other civil society organisations as well as the companies involved.