Apple’s last quarter generated sales of $46.3 billion, making it one of the most profitable quarters ever for any U.S. company. Last quarter Apple sold 15 million iPads and 37 million iPhones. My first reaction to numbers like that is always, “Wow! Someone has to make those 37 million iphone first.”
I think in our minds there is some factory in some far off country which just spits out iPhones and iPads from the mouths of large, automated machines. These gadgets just come rolling off the assembly lines like a bunch of Oreo cookies while the workers pack them into pretty white boxes.
The truth is far from it. These gadgets are not made by robots on assembly lines, but by human beings who are sitting there, hour after hour, performing the same tedious task over and over again under awful work conditions.
Foxconn, a collection of factories that makes most of Apple products has long been under fire for its labor practices. Apple has repeatedly addressed the issue but not many are convinced.
NYTimes has a detailed and heart-breaking article about the human cost of iPhones and iPad manufacturing. Numerous deaths amid concerns of safety hazards and horrible work conditions are detailed in the Times article. The article also quotes a few Apple executives–anonymously of course:
“We’re trying really hard to make things better,” said one former Apple executive. “But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.”
Of course, Apple is not the only company doing business in China under such inhumane working conditions. Many other companies such as Dell, HP, Sony and many others etc are equally guilty of averting their eyes from awful labor conditions. But as one of the most successful company in the world Apple could start by setting the right tone. According to the Times article:
“Every company wants to be Apple,” said Sasha Lezhnev at the Enough Project, a group focused on corporate accountability. “If they committed to building a conflict-free iPhone, it would transform technology.”
With so much buying power Apple can throw its weight around with just about any manufacturer and hold their feet to the fire. But of course, that is unlikely to happen if we don’t hold Apple’s feet to to the fire first. As one of the executives at Apple is quoted in the article:
“… right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China.”
Source: NYTimes,
