University of Washington Joins Others in Severing Ties with Adidas

A group of University of Washington students, United Students Against Sweatshops, has convinced the school’s advisory committee to end their relationship with Adidas over unfair labor practices in Adidas factories in Indonesia.

Washington becomes the third known school to sever ties with Adidas.  Cornell and Oberlin College have also done so, and as I wrote earlier, the University of Wisconsin is currently involved in litigation to terminate their agreement with Adidas for the same reason.

UW’s athletic teams wear Nike uniforms and the Adidas licensing contract was one of the school’s smaller deals, bringing in about $3K a year, so the financial ramifications are minimal.  However, concern on Adidas’ part has to be increasing as schools are not content to let this issue be swept under the rug.