Converse said it took immediate action to alleged worker abuses at Indonesia plant identified in an article by the Associated Press. Converse’s statement said, ” As an affiliate of Nike, Inc., Converse takes matters of unfair labor practices very seriously and vigorously supports the protection of rights for the worker.”


The article claimed to be based on dozens of workers at Pou Chen Group factory in Sukabumi, about 60 miles from Jakarta. Among the charges are that supervisors throw shoes at workers, slap and kick them, and call them dogs and pigs. Converse products werent made at the factory until four years after Nike bought Converse. Among the charges brought up by the article are that supervisors throw shoes at workers, slap and kick them, and call them dogs and pigs.


Converse’s statement:


“Once notified about these issues within factories producing Converse product, immediate action was taken.  Nike Inc. and Converse remain highly engaged with its factory partners  so that the corrective actions are systemic and lasting.


Nike, Inc. has made significant progress in its Nike brand supply chain and we will continue to accelerate the optimization of our affiliate supply chain. This includes – where possible – integration between factories producing affiliate branded product and those producing Nike-branded product, while aligning factories that exclusively supply affiliate brands to the standards outlined in the Nike Inc. Code of Conduct.


“Once we were notified of these issues, Nike Inc. and Converse took decisive action and immediately began implementing the following changes at PT Amara and Pou Chen:


  • Engaged in direct interviews and conversations with workers and created action plans from results.

  • Engaged the Fair Labor Association to independently review remediation and transparently report on the results.
    Pou Chen and PT Amara deployed special task teams to start implementing immediate actions at the factories.

  • Reviewed and reinforced a confidential grievance process for workers to help with the immediate escalation of issues.

  • Human Resource and cross-cultural training for the expatriate supervisors and managers. Bi-weekly training on this began immediately. that once notified about these issues within factories producing Converse product, immediate action was taken. 


The statement went on to say that Nike Inc. and Converse remain highly engaged with its factory partners so that the corrective actions are systemic and lasting.”


The AP article had quoted Hannah Jones, VP of sustainable business and innovation at Nike, that the company’s own inquiries found workers at the two factories were subjected to “serious and egregious” physical and verbal abuse.


“We do see other issues of that similar nature coming up across the supply chain but not on a frequent level,” she told the AP. “We see issues of working conditions on a less egregious nature across the board.”


Nike also reportedly released information to the AP that shows nearly two-thirds of 168 factories making Converse products worldwide fail to meet Nike’s own standards for contract manufacturers.


Twelve are in the most serious category, indicating problems that could range from illegally long work hours to denying access to Nike inspectors. Another 97 are in a category defined as making no progress in improving problems ranging from isolated verbal harassment to paying less than minimum wage. A further six factories had not been audited by Nike.


NKE blames problems on pre-existing licenses to produce Converse product that it says prevent the parent company from inspecting factories or introducing its own code of conduct. Some of the licensees also subcontract production. Nike said it is working to renegotiate those agreements or take over the license as terms come up for renewal.