When I was growing up (90’s kids represent!!!), a major topic of conversation in class was about Nike’s use of child workers in sweatshop conditions.

I remember one teacher in particular encouraged us to not wear Nike at all.

It dominated headlines for years- and then nothing.

Years of pressure in the 90’s led to a massive PR campaign on the part of major brands like GAP and Nike as well as some real work steps to change child labor.

By the early 2000’s, it seemed that the media had gotten tired of the story.

So problem must have been solved right? Wrong.

April 24th was the two year anniversary of the Rana Plaza Disaster in Bangladesh that saw 1,129 people lose their lives. Since then, there’s been another massive push from workers rights advocates to take another look at the issue.

But even after that massive loss of life the problem still persists.

Watch John Oliver’s take in the video above and let us know why you think this problem is so hard for the world community to tackle. (You can skip to 4:52 to get a full history about how today’s situation came about.)

Editorial

Demand Equity

You need to hear what John Oliver has to say about the clothes you're wearing

By Tom Blake