Nike Standards

Mark Gibney raised several valid points in “Treat Overseas Workers Fairly--by Law, Not Whim” (Commentary, May 25). Indeed, Nike has decided to “follow domestic health and safety standards in [our] overseas operations” even though the federal government does not require us to do so.

New initiatives were announced because we want to continue improving the working environment for our subcontracted workers and to economically empower their communities. Another goal was to increase the challenge to the sporting goods industry to do more.

Regarding the issue of supposed “hopscotch[ing] around the globe” to countries where local governments have “little intention of regulating their activities,” last month the Seattle Times detailed that Vietnam, a country in which Nike has a presence, “is keeping a close watch on how foreign investors behave” and also said, “Vietnam has some of the region’s toughest laws aimed at protecting workers.” We maintain high workplace standards in all our Asian factories through our code of conduct and internal monitoring.

VADA MANAGER

U.S. Corporate Communications

Nike, Beaverton, Ore.