The Nike swoosh made its debut at the Coop several weeks ago when the store introduced a new line of Harvard-wear produced by the Nike Corporation. Many T-shirts, hats and other athletic retail apparel adorned with Harvard’s name will now include the ubiquitous swoosh symbol directly below the usual logo.

The new line—the result of a year-long process initiated by the Nike corporation—is selling well, according to Coop President Jerry T. Murphy ’73.

“Nike is a terrific brand,” Murphy said. “We were interested in Nike as a vendor because of the popularity of the brand and how well the logos look on the apparel.”

The athletic brand first applied for the trademark license in the summer of 2000 and secured it this summer. Under the agreement, Nike has permission from the Harvard University Trademark Program to use the Harvard name and shield, as long as the designs are approved by the Trademark Program.

“It’s simply allowing Nike to produce a sweatshirt with the Harvard name on it, and that’s it,” said Kevin Scully, who oversees US trademark licensing for the Harvard University Trademark Program. “There is no implied endorsement, sponsorship or anything else.”

Nike’s labor practices have previously come under fire at campuses across the nation, including this one as well as the University of Michigan and Stanford University campuses. But Scully said Harvard is satisfied with Nike’s active participation and membership in the Fair Labor Association.

Benjamin L. McKean ’02, a member of the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) which has previously spoken out against Nike’s labor policies, said he had not heard about the Nike-Harvard appparel deal but was nevertheless concerned about their business partnership.

“Nike’s human rights abuses are numerous and documented,” McKean said. “And Harvard itself has documented human rights abuses that take place in factories that already produce Harvard apparel. Clearly a contract with Nike is not a step towards solving problems that exist in these factories.”