Rutgers University reportedly became the fourth school in the nation to
sever its ties with Adidas. Activists across several colleges have
alleged Adidas failed to comply with Indonesian law when the P.T. Kizone
company
did not pay severance compensation to workers in a factory it closed.
Adidas
has countered that the factory was unethically closed and abandoned by
its owner, not Adidas, months after the factory ceased accepting orders
from Adidas.
In a letter sent to Rutgers United Students Against
Sweatshop (RSAS), President Robert L. Barchi said he could cancel the
contract following a protest by the group.
“We expect the companies with which the university has a trademark
license agreement to respect and uphold the labor and legal rights of
workers producing Rutgers-branded products, and Adidas’s actions are not
in keeping with this expectation,” he said in the letter.
Adidas said in a statement that the factory was “unethically closed and
abandoned by its owner, not the by the Adidas Group” months after the
company stopped placing orders at the site.
“We honored all terms
of our contract, paying the factory owners every penny owed for the
business we did,” the company added. “In turn, we cannot assume the
liability for the severance owed by the former owner of PT Kizone who
violated Indonesian law and fled.”
Adidas said it provided “clarifying information” to Rutgers and other business partners about the matter.
“We
are we are adhering to and, in fact, exceeding both the spirit and the
letter of the codes of conduct our university partners require,” the
company said.
The University of Washington also severed its tie with Adidas earlier this month. Cornell University and Oberlin College had also previously decided to cut ties with Adidas.
