[539] in peace2
Fwd: activism
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Karen Sachs)
Sat Feb 17 13:19:50 2001
Message-Id: <200102171813.NAA08641@melbourne-city-street.MIT.EDU>
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 13:14:27 -0500
To: sachs@fas.harvard.edu, peace-list@mit.edu
From: Karen Sachs <karens@MIT.EDU>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>this is a really cool and funny article.
>http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0107/jockbeat.shtml
>
>
>
>
> Making Nike Sweat
>
> Jockbeat's newest hero is Jonah Peretti, who turned Nike's
corporate
> creativity against itself in a stand against third-world
exploitation
> labor. Peretti's protest made use of the swoosh brand's
Nike iD Web
> site, which allows customers to "build your own" sneaker,
complete
> with a word of your choice, or "iD," printed on the side.
For his iD,
> Peretti selected "sweatshop," which generated the following
e-mail
> exchange:
>
> From: Personalize, NIKE iD
> To: Jonah H. Peretti Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order
>
> Your NIKE iD order was cancelled for one or more of the
following
> reasons: 1) Your Personal iD contains another party's
trademark or
> other intellectual property. 2) Your Personal iD contains
the name of an athlete or team we do not have
> the legal right to use. 3) Your Personal iD was left blank.
Did you not want any personalization? 4) Your
> Personal iD contains profanity or inappropriate slang, and
besides, your mother would slap us. If you
> wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalization please visit us again at
> www.nike.com Thank you, NIKE iD
>
> From: Jonah H. Peretti
> To: Personalize, NIKE iD Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order
>
> Greetings, My order was canceled but my personal NIKE iD
does not violate any of the criteria
> outlined in your message. The Personal iD on my custom ZOOM
XC USA running shoes was the word
> "sweatshop." Sweatshop is not: 1) another party's
trademark, 2) the name of an athlete, 3) blank, or 4)
> profanity. I chose the iD because I wanted to remember the
toil and labor of the children that made my
> shoes. Could you please ship them to me immediately?
>
> Thanks and Happy New Year, Jonah Peretti
>
> From: Personalize, NIKE iD
> To: Jonah H. Peretti Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order
>
> Dear NIKE iD Customer, Your NIKE iD order was cancelled
because the iD you have chosen contains,
> as stated in the previous e-mail correspondence,
"inappropriate slang." If you wish to reorder your
> NIKE iD product with a new personalization please visit us
again at www.nike.com
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
> From: Jonah H. Peretti
> To: Personalize, NIKE iD Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order
>
> Dear NIKE iD, Thank you for your quick response to my
inquiry about my custom ZOOM XC USA
> running shoes. Although I commend you for your prompt
customer service, I disagree with the claim that
> my personal iD was inappropriate slang. After consulting
Webster's Dictionary, I discovered that
> "sweatshop" is in fact part of standard English, and not
slang. The word means: "a shop or factory in
> which workers are employed for long hours at low wages and
under unhealthy conditions" and its origin
> dates from 1892. So my personal iD does meet the criteria
detailed in your first e-mail. Your Web site
> advertises that the NIKE iD program is "about freedom to
choose and freedom to express who you are."
> I share Nike's love of freedom and personal statement. The
site also says that "If you want it done
> right . . . build it yourself." I was thrilled to be able
to build my own shoes, and my personal iD was
> offered as a small token of appreciation for the sweatshop
workers poised to help me realize my vision.
> I hope that you will value my freedom of statement and
reconsider your decision to reject my order.
> Thank you, Jonah Peretti
>
> From: Personalize, NIKE iD
> To: Jonah H. Peretti Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order
>
> Dear NIKE iD Customer, Regarding the rules for
personalization it also states on the NIKE iD Web
> site that "Nike reserves the right to cancel any Personal
iD up to 24 hours after it has been submitted."
> In addition it further explains: "While we honor most
personal iDs, we cannot honor every one. Some
> may be (or contain) others' trademarks, or the names of
certain professional sports teams, athletes or
> celebrities that Nike does not have the right to use.
Others may contain material that we consider
> inappropriate or simply do not want to place on our
products. Unfortunately, at times this obliges us to
> decline personal iDs that may otherwise seem
unobjectionable. In any event, we will let you know if
> we decline your personal iD, and we will offer you the
chance to submit another." With these rules in
> mind we cannot accept your order as submitted. If you wish
to reorder your NIKE iD product with a
> new personalization please visit us again at www.nike.com
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
> From: Jonah H. Peretti
> To: Personalize, NIKE iD Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order
>
> Dear NIKE iD, Thank you for the time and energy you have
spent on my request. I have decided to
> order the shoes with a different iD, but I would like to
make one small request. Could you please send
> me a color snapshot of the 10-year-old Vietnamese girl who
makes my shoes? Thanks, Jonah Peretti
>
> Nike did not respond to this final missive. But its
spokespeople did confirm the exchange-while
> stressing the company's efforts to do away with sweatshops
and child labor in its Asian plants. Many
> labor advocates, of course, would argue with those claims.
>
> As would Peretti, a graduate student at MIT. Peretti was
moved to perform this personal brand of
> culture jamming by what he called the "terrible irony" of
the Nike iD program, which trumpets the
> consumer's ability to make their own shoe. "In reality,"
says Peretti, "you're just sending a to-do list
> to some workers so that they can make your shoes for you
under these truly horrible conditions."
>
> Peretti is quick to note that he's no hard-core
activist-that there are more committed people out there
> fighting the good fight and fighting it hard. True enough,
but for getting the word out there in creative
> and compelling fashion-the exchange is now making the
rounds on the Internet via mass
> e-mailings-we salute Mr. Peretti.
>
