Demonstrators get militant in All Blacks adidas row

Anti-capitalist demonstrators in New Zealand have burnt a logo of the adidas sportswear company as protests intensify over the price of the new All Blacks Rugby World Cup jersey.

The new jersey had been given a recommended retail price of NZ$220 – equating to a mammoth €128 a pop in the current exchange rate.

The price of the garment is one bone of contention, and another is the allegedly tiny cost of labour being paid by adidas in Asia, where workers are said to be employed for the equivalent of around 60 cents an hour.

The row has threatened to drive a wedge between the All Blacks and their supporters just a month before the start of the 2011 Rugby World Cup on home soil.

The New Zealand Herald reports that a dozen members of Socialist Aotearoa burned an adidas logo outside Eden Park in Auckland last night, while other local media reports suggest that six staff of the global sportswear giant have removed branding from their cars having been subjected to abuse in recent days.

The 2011 Rugby World Cup starts at Eden Park on Friday 9 September when New Zealand take on Tonga.

[Main picture via Kiwi Flickr/Flickr Creative Commons]