Clean Clothes: A Global Movement to End Sweatshops

Since several decades non-governmental organizations (NGOs) bring worker and human rights issues to the public attention through their campaigns, reports, protests and boycotts. In the 1990s, Global Exchange urged prominent garment and sportswear companies such as The Gap and Nike to improve the working conditions in their suppliers' factories. Today, Nike is relatively transparent about its suppliers and has a solid auditing system in place to ensure that its code of conduct is respected. This year, Greenpeace's KitKat campaign made Nestlé agree to stop using products which contribute to the destruction of the rainforest (Greenpeace International, 2010).