Shoemaker takes responsible step

Hooray for transparency! Adidas has made its list of global supplier factories public. (And I just learned that Nike did the same thing way back in 2005.) The move has been lauded by the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, Oxfam Australia, and other civil society groups—many of which lobbied the companies extensively over the years on this issue, so they deserve congratulations too.

I’m not saying you should run out and buy a pair of sneakers to celebrate—after all, labor abuses are still rampant in sportswear manufacturing, as various Oxfam reports and analyses relate (check out these links to learn more). But it’s a far cry from the days when these companies refused to reveal their factory locations because of competitiveness concerns. (Of course, that’s still the case with many businesses, including über-greeny online store Gaiam.)

Any move toward greater corporate transparency concerning supply chains deserves kudos, in my book.