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With news about Adidas using
Cambodian sweatshops to pump out
promotional clothes, the question of
ethics and sponsorship has become
even more sharply drawn.
In a report by the Daily Mail, the
sportswear giant is paying workers in
Cambodia just under 15 dollars a week.
They work in squalid conditions for 10-
hour days, six days a week.
According to the report, Adidas has
pumped over 100 million pounds into
the games, but what amounts to a
humans’ right abuse has observers
of the game worried. But they are not
the only sponsor charged with being
unethical and therefore being a poor
choice for a sporting exhibition that
extolls the values of fair play.
Dow Chemical Company is a major
investor in the games but has come
under fire for their role in the Bhopal
chemical plant disaster in 1984.
Opponents of the company claim
that victims, said to number in the
thousands, are still not being properly
compensated after years of legal
wrangles.
Amnesty International has been
lobbying to no avail to have Dow
removed as an official sponsor.
However, Dowhave hit back by claiming
that they were not running the Bhopal
plant when poisonous gases escaped
and killed over 3000 people.
“Bhopal was a terrible tragedy that
none of us will ever forget. However,
it is important to note that Dow never
owned or operated the plant, which
today is under the control of the
Madhya Pradesh state government,”
read a statement on the website.
The organizing committee for the
London Games, LOCOG, claims to
audit all corporate sponsors to ensure
that any company involved with the
games is not violating the values of the
Olympics. Despite this, companies with
charges of unethical behaviour are still
welcomed as sponsors.
In an interview with the Guardian,
Jacques Rogge, the IOC president said,
“Before accepting a new company, they
CASHING IN
With the lolly scramble at the Olympics already well and truly underway, many people inside
and outside sport are asking about the impact corporate sponsorship has had on the games. It
seems that every week there is a controversy surrounding the games, and many of them stem
from sponsorship deals, writes
TIMOTHY MOTTRAM
AT THE OLYMPICS
Photo By Matt Deegan
The London Olympic Stadium - Finished and ready to host the games. But the competition between brands at the Olympics is well underway.
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