Turning a blind eye to the manufacture of sports gear

Dear sir - Recently, I have become more and more conscious of the numbers of people who wear clothes displaying the logos of well-known brands, such as the ubiquitous tick mark or the three stripes. And these 'advertisers" aren"t just the young and peer-pressured; many older people are also engaged in promoting these multi-national corporations. In effect, when we wear these clothes and shoes, we are really wearing a badge that says, 'I support the continued existence of slave labour in the Third World". But perhaps the worst offenders in this sense are the world"s top sports people, who are paid millions of dollars each just for wearing these clothes with the precious logos. A case of money for old rope if ever there was one. And now that we are subject to saturation coverage of the Olympic Games, we have the biggest irony of all. The powers-that-be in China have given the low-paid workers enforced leave without pay so as the factories that they work in won"t contribute the smog that might spoil the Olympic party. Welcome to China"s dining-room but don"t dare to see what"s going on in the kitchen! Yours, John Reilly, Maelduin, Dunshaughlin.