Nike

Problem #3 Nike is not eco-friendly

Symptoms:

Nike has a huge demand in the leather industry.

The leather industry, is closely linked with the meat industry, that is, the leather is a byproduct of the meat processing operation, the demand for shoes, belts and clothes which are made by leather directly contributes to preserve farms and slaughterhouses, since it is the most valuablebyproduct of the meat industry.

70% of China’s rivers, lakes and reservoirs in China are now classified as polluted. ( Zi-jian W) Many companies, such as Nike, are link with China's textile factories that use dangerous substances discharged to water. Many chemicals released from the textile mills put threat to human health and the environment. Now china is suffering because most of their water ispolluted, and is very difficult to reverse the damage.

Nike spends a lot of money and CO2 in the process to manufacture their products.

The waste of CO2 is one of the mayor cause of the global warming, we can see everyday in the news that glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up, also plant and animals have been change. According to the NASA there are some effects that arecause by the global warming such as hotter days and nights, Heat waves more frequent over most land areas, Increase in intense tropical cyclone activity in North Atlantic, Global area affected by drought has increased. (http://climate.nasa.gov/)

Causes:

-The huge demand of leather, beef and other cattle products produce the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon and may make a climatechange.

Nike deals with manufactures in china that buys leather from a Brazilian company called Bertin, one of the three major intermediates of beef and leather in Brazil. According to a report by the Organization of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gases-18 percent, measured in equivalent carbon dioxide (CO2). It is alsoa major cause of land degradation and water resources. (Staff Writers) so the cause of selling a lot of leather to many companies around the world would cause a huge destruction to the environment.

-Nike manufactures use toxic chemicals to produce clothes and textiles.

Today, global warming and climate change is an undeniable reality. Virtually all people of the world are aware of it andthere is growing awareness of the need to protect the environment and life that inhabits it. One of the most widely used to prevent contamination is the sustainable production, which modifies certain practices in industries related to transportation, food and construction. Another sector that is not outside of it is, textiles, which in recent years showed interesting projects where respect for theenvironment and human rights became protagonists. Nike clothes have a significant environmental impact. Although many are not aware, the traditional textile production generates a very negative environmental impact not only by the constant consumption but also by the type of production involved in their manufacture. Synthetic materials like nylon, rayon or polyester cause pollution and healthdamage. Natural products such as cotton can also be harmful by toxic substances used in their conservation. Much of the clothing is made with this fiber, whose plant is treated with pesticides that affect soil, air and health of people. These substances often contain heavy metals that pollute water and affect the health of ecosystems. Consequences of a

contaminate water is that can be harmful to thehuman body and now turning up into china’s food and drinking water. In addition, when factories polluted the water with these toxic chemical are causing the death of million of fishes. Nike is no the only responsible from contaminated the water in china, there are more companies throwing toxic chemicals to China’s rivers. For example, the Yellow River, China's second longest river after the...