IU in the year 2015: No sweat!

Although thousands of students will come and go in the next 10 years, some habits of today will most likely remain: IU clothing will continue to sell, and computer labs will house students racing against deadlines.\nDespite the similarities, slight differences will exist: Sweatshops won't produce IU apparel, and companies with ethical practices will supply University computers.\nAt least, that's what the student organization No Sweat! hopes for.\nNo Sweat! focuses its efforts against sweatshops but tries to show the ethical side of business in general, member Philip Shelton said.\n"We would like to see IU be conscious of its role as a mass consumer," member Ursula McTaggart said.\nMcTaggart said her biggest hope for 2015 is to have all IU apparel made in factories with fair labor conditions. This would provide workers with good working conditions, better wages and the right to organize into unions, giving workers a venue to negotiate with their employers, she said.\nCurrently, No Sweat! is working to make brand names, such as Nike and Reebok, to produce IU apparel in fair conditions, McTaggart said.\nThough No Sweat! hopes to have this campaign approved within a few months, full implementation will take time because the brands will initially be required to produce 25 percent of their products in fair conditions. Later, the percentage will increase to 50, 75 and 100 percent, Shelton said.\nNo Sweat! faces obstacles it must hurdle before reaching its goal.\nShelton said the biggest challenge is convincing people the campaign is necessary, and it comes down to President Adam Herbert's approval.\nMcTaggart agreed with Shelton but also said the clothing brands will resist paying more for production.\nOnce No Sweat! accomplishes its sweatshop goal, Shelton said it wants IU to adopt codes of conduct for more ethical purchases for products like food services, computers, building materials and school supplies.\nNo Sweat! doesn't have definite benchmarks but will work by focusing on one product before progressing to the next, Shelton said.