The University of Notre Dame's campus bookstore sells "Fighting Irish" lettermen jackets, "ND" license plate frames and stadium cups picturing the school's leprechaun mascot. Not for sale: anything made in China.
Ten years after adopting the policy, Notre Dame remains the only major U.S. university that forbids license holders such as Adidas AG to put the school logo on any product from China, according to groups that track college merchandising.
Notre Dame prohibits the goods because China, the top source of U.S. imports, doesn't permit independent labor unions, according to a college policy document. The ban is attracting fresh attention from Washington lawmakers who say China has begun a renewed crackdown on dissidents.
We applaud Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia (a friend of ours on highway safety issues) for urging other universities to do the same.
Collegiate Licensing Inc. says college-branded products are a $4.3 billion-a-year business, Drajem writes.
Imagine how many American jobs that could support.
