From: carrietc@mindspring.com
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 09:21:41 -0500
To: tomas13.geo@yahoo.com
CC: <yevebob@yahoo.com, <shurley@hrw.com,
<omid@hand.com
Subject: The shoe heard 'round the world...


Nike now lets you personalize your shoes by submitting a word or
phrase which they will stitch onto your shoes, under the swoosh. 
So Jonah Peretti filled out the form and sent them $50 to stitch 
"sweatshop" onto his shoes. Here's the responses he got... fun 
and games with Nike...

From: "Personalize, NIKE iD"
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000

Your NIKE iD order was cancelled for one or more of the 
following reasons:

1) Your Personal iD contains another party's trademark or other
   intellectual property
2) Your Personal iD contains the name of an athlete or team we do
   not have the legal right to use
3) Your Personal iD was left blank. Did you not want any
   personalization?
4) Your Personal iD contains profanity or inappropriate slang, and
   besides, your mother would slap us.

If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalization please visit us again at www.nike.com

Thank you, NIKE iD


From: "Jonah H. Peretti"
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000

Greetings,

My order was canceled but my personal NIKE iD does not violate any
of the criteria outlined in your message. The Personal iD on my 
custom ZOOM XC USA running shoes was the word "sweatshop."

Sweatshop is not:
   1) another's party's trademark,
   2) the name of an athlete,
   3) blank, or
   4) profanity.

I choose the iD because I wanted to remember the toil and labor of
the children that made my shoes. Could you please ship them to me
immediately.

Thanks and Happy New Year, Jonah Peretti


From: "Personalize, NIKE iD"
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000

Dear NIKE iD Customer,

Your NIKE iD order was cancelled because the iD you have chosen
contains, as stated in the previous e-mail correspondence,
"inappropriate slang". If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD 
product with a new personalization please visit us again at 
nike.com

Thank you, NIKE iD


From: "Jonah H. Peretti"
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000

Dear NIKE iD,

Thank you for your quick response to my inquiry about my custom
ZOOM XC USA running shoes. Although I commend you for your 
prompt customer service, I disagree with the claim that my 
personal iD was inappropriate slang. After consulting Webster's 
Dictionary, I discovered that "sweatshop" is in fact part of 
standard English, and not slang. The word means: "a shop or 
factory in which workers are employed for long hours at low 
wages and under unhealthy conditions" and its origin dates from
1892. So my personal iD does meet the criteria detailed in your
first email.

Your web site advertises that the NIKE iD program is "about freedom
to choose and freedom to express who you are." I share Nike's love
of freedom and personal expression. The site also says that "If you
want it done right...build it yourself." I was thrilled to be able 
to build my own shoes, and my personal iD was offered as a small 
token of appreciation for the sweatshop workers poised to help me 
realize my vision. I hope that you will value my freedom of 
expression and reconsider your decision to reject my order.

Thank you, Jonah Peretti


From: "Personalize, NIKE iD"
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000

Dear NIKE iD Customer,

Regarding the rules for personalization it also states on the NIKE
iD web site that "Nike reserves the right to cancel any personal iD
up to 24 hours after it has been submitted". In addition, it
further explains: "While we honor most personal iDs, we cannot 
honor every one. Some may be (or contain) other's trademarks, or 
the names of certain professional sports teams, athletes or 
celebrities that Nike does not have the right to use. Others may 
contain material that we consider inappropriate or simply do not 
want to place on our products.

Unfortunately, at times this obliges us to decline personal iDs
that may otherwise seem unobjectionable. In any event, we will 
let you know if we decline your personal iD, and we will offer 
you the chance to submit another." With these rules in mind, we 
cannot accept your order as submitted. If you wish to reorder 
your NIKE iD product with a new personalization please visit us 
again at www.nike.com

Thank you, NIKE iD


From: "Jonah H. Peretti"
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000

Dear NIKE iD,

Thank you for the time and energy you have spent on my request. I
have decided to order the shoes with a different iD, but I would 
like to make one small request. Could you please send me a color 
snapshot of the ten-year-old Vietnamese girl who makes my shoes?

Thanks,
Jonah Peretti