Strategic Public Relations, Sweatshops, and the Making of a Global Movement

Abstract

This paper has two objectives. First, it tracks the role of these public relations professionals in the shaping and defining of the sweatshop awareness movement, and second, it examines the campaign against Nike as a window into an emerging form of political activism suited to computer-savvy youth, life-style politics, global interdependency and consumer choice. Linked by E-mail, the Net, and common symbols, these political actors under the age of 30 are becoming increasingly visible players in the debate about transnational corporate responsibility.