Nike Inc., in response to pressure from student organizations across the country, has disclosed the locations of more than 40 factories that produce college apparel.

The move has encouraged Harvard's student activists, who hope the University's clothing manufacturers will follow suit.

Fearing human rights violations in so-called "sweatshops," students from five universities that employ Nike to supply their clothing--Duke, Georgetown, and the Universities of Arizona, Michigan at Ann Arbor and North Carolina at Chapel Hill--succeeded last week in convincing the company to divulge the names and addresses of 42 of its factories. The list includes firms located both in the U.S. and abroad.

Many of the student activists now plan to visit the factories to ensure that working conditions are satisfactory.

Although Nike does not supply Harvard's apparel, the Harvard-based Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) has sought similar goals in recent months.

In the spring, responding to students' demands, the University affirmed that it would urge its manufacturing licensees, among them Champion, to release the locations of their manufacturing plants. The companies, however, have yet to do so.

Although Nike's disclosure does not apply directly to Harvard, PSLM member Benjamin L McKean '02 said the decision is a step in the right direction.

"Hopefully, now it will be easier for Harvard to push its own licensees to release the locations of their factories," he said.