Hidden Nike agenda sullies a noble goal

By JOHN HENRY HINKEL
Published on: 07/19/05

My school hallways are like a sea of yellow. Everywhere I look, I see those trendy yellow Livestrong wristbands. I overhear girls talking about how cute they look. I see kids with their forearms covered in them. Charity groups have approached me at my school selling them.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation is targeting my generation with these yellow bands because we seem to have a lot of disposable income. This seems to be a good generation to market to, as more than 46 million bands have been sold.
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John Henry Hinkel, a rising sophomore at Paideia School, is a writer for VOX, an independent, citywide newspaper published by and for teens.

To me, the bands were like a win-win situation. I was giving money to fight cancer and at the same time, was receiving a trendy wristband already being worn by my peers.

When I bought one, I felt proud of myself. It seemed to me to be a noble cause. It seemed to be too good to be true. I was right.

Upon logging on to the Lance Armstrong Foundation's Web site, I saw that one of its top sponsors was Nike. In fact, Nike commissioned designers for the bands.

This seemed interesting because Nike is a corporation that is not receiving such great press. It has been accused of outsourcing its labor to sweatshops. Social groups have accused Nike of paying its workers insufficient wages to meet their basic needs and destroying local economies.

I went further into the Web site and viewed other Lance Armstrong apparel manufactured by Nike. There were Lance Armstrong Nike gift cards, Lance Armstrong shirts, and Lance Armstrong jackets. This apparel was more expensive than the simple Livestrong bands, and a notice let me know that only $1 from these purchases would go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

When I looked on the inside of the band, I saw that it was made in China. The creator of the band, Lance Armstrong, is American. Most of the people receiving the benefits from the band are American. It seemed to me that the bands should also be made in America.

This disheartened me very much. I had always thought of the Livestrong bands as being part of a pure cause that has its heart in the right place. Now, with this new information, I began to view the bands as being an advertising gimmick by Nike.

Nike is marketing them to my generation as being a charitable way to spend your money. The bands are giving Nike a better name by making the corporation sound generous.

But it seems to me that the real motive behind these bands is to help advertise other Nike products that are distantly related to the foundation. I feel deceived. When I buy something, especially something to promote a cause, I want that cause to be sincere.

Now when I look at my Livestrong band, I view it in a whole different light. Instead of a symbol of the fight against cancer, I see it as a cheap promotional item. Now when I see that sea of yellow, I will look at it in a whole different way.

— New Attitudes is a weekly opinion column written by readers between the ages of 15-22. E-mail submissions or questions to dbeasley@ajc.com or call 404-526-7371.