Nike
Flagged · AvoidThe world's largest athletic apparel brand, with a decades-long record of supply chain labor abuses, offshore tax avoidance, and greenwashing.
Last updated June 13, 2026
↓ Skip to 6 ethical alternativesReasons to avoid
Issues span:LaborTaxEnvironment
- Nike refused for years to compensate 4,000+ garment workers owed $2.2 million in legally mandated wages and benefits after two of its supplier factories closed without paying workers. Over 50 human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, and investors managing $4 trillion in assets pressured Nike to pay. Nike spent $1 billion on marketing in early 2024 alone while withholding the $2.2 million.
- Human Rights Watch reported that 1,284 Cambodian garment workers — mostly women — were owed $1.4 million in severance when the Violet Apparel factory closed in 2020. Nike denied producing goods there despite photographic evidence, worker testimony, and Nike's own published supply chain disclosures listing the factory.
- The Paradise Papers revealed Nike used a Dutch shell entity ("Nike Innovate CV") designed to be tax-resident nowhere in the world, routing billions in European trademark royalties through structures taxed at just 3% — yielding no U.S. tax at all. Nike had built $6.6 billion in offshore profits by 2014 using these arrangements.
- Nike laid off its entire Sustainable Innovation team and slashed sustainability staff despite pledging to cut supply chain emissions 30% by 2030. As of reporting, Nike's total carbon emissions were only 1.6% lower than when it made its climate moonshot pledge years earlier. Nike's supply chain — 99% of its emissions — runs on coal-heavy power in Vietnam, China, and Indonesia.
- ProPublica reported that workers at a Nike supplier factory in Cambodia regularly fainted from heat and overwork, with up to 15 workers per month collapsing in buildings with no air conditioning that reached temperatures above 100 degrees. The factory employed 4,500 people at its peak, and Nike suppliers across Cambodia now employ more than 57,000 workers producing Nike goods. Workers had been fainting at Nike supplier factories every year from 2012 through 2019.
- Nike authorized $18 billion in stock buybacks in 2022, benefiting wealthy investors, while simultaneously cutting the share of its retail price paid to the garment workers who make its products. Nike's CEO received more than 24,000 times the compensation of a garment worker in Sri Lanka making Nike clothing.
Ethical alternatives
Sneakers & Casual
Veja
B-Corp certified French sneaker brand. Sources fair-trade organic cotton and wild Amazonian rubber directly from cooperatives, paying farmers 30–100% above market price. Made in ethical factories in Brazil.
✅ B-Corp🤝 Fair Trade♻️ Sustainable✊ Worker Owned
Visit →
Allbirds
B-Corp certified brand making sneakers from merino wool, eucalyptus fiber, and sugarcane-based foam. Transparent about carbon footprint on every product page.
✅ B-Corp♻️ Sustainable
Visit →Running
On Running
Swiss performance running brand committed to recycled materials and supply chain transparency. Offers a circular subscription for its recyclable Cyclon shoe.
♻️ Sustainable
Visit →Athletic Apparel
Patagonia
Employee-owned, B-Corp certified outdoor and athletic brand. Donates 1% of sales to environmental causes, uses recycled and Fair Trade certified materials, and offers lifetime repairs.
✅ B-Corp🤝 Fair Trade♻️ Sustainable
Visit →Secondhand Gear
ThredUp
The largest online secondhand clothing marketplace. Buying used athletic gear extends product life and keeps clothes out of landfills.
👗 Second Hand♻️ Sustainable
Visit →Local Sporting Goods
Local Sporting Goods Stores
Find an independent sporting goods store near you — keep dollars in your community instead of a global conglomerate.
📍 Local Business📍 Supports Locals
Common Questions
- Is Nike ethical?
- Nike withheld $2.2 million in legally mandated wages from over 4,000 garment workers at two closed supplier factories while spending $1 billion on marketing in early 2024 alone. Workers at a Nike supplier in Cambodia regularly fainted from heat and overwork in buildings with no air conditioning reaching over 100 degrees, a pattern documented by ProPublica from 2012 through at least 2019.
- Why are people boycotting Nike?
- Supply chain wage theft, greenwashing, and offshore tax avoidance are the most common reasons. Nike laid off its entire Sustainable Innovation team while its total carbon emissions were only 1.6% lower than when it made its climate pledge, with its supply chain still running on coal-heavy power in Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. Nike authorized $18 billion in stock buybacks while cutting the share of revenue paid to garment workers, with its CEO receiving over 24,000 times the pay of a Sri Lankan factory worker.
- What are the best ethical alternatives to Nike?
- Veja is a B Corp certified Fair Trade sneaker brand that pays farmers 30 to 100 percent above market price. Patagonia is employee-owned with Fair Trade certified factories and lifetime repair programs. ThredUp offers secondhand athletic gear to extend product life and cut demand for new production.