ON BASHING APPLE'S CHINESE iPOD FACTORIES (Part II)

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

Looks like Apple diligently followed up on the Daily Mail's story via MacWorld this past June citing the work conditions at an "iPod City" run by Apple sub-contractor FoxConn in China (more from this New York Times article). 

The Apple release on the subject is long, but worth reading for folks on both sides of this issue.

The bottom line of the 1645 word document?

Explicitly, the report concludes:

"We found the supplier to be in compliance in the majority of the areas audited. However, we did find violations to our Code of Conduct, as well as other areas for improvement that we are working with the supplier to address."

In other words, no major wrongs were committed on Apple's behalf in China.

Implicitly, the report tries to communicate subliminally to all concerned, that Apple cares about this issue, that it stands ready to dispatch at a moment's notice:

"...an audit team comprised of members from our human resources, legal and operations groups to carry out a thorough investigation of the conditions at the manufacturing site."

Good Apple.

I agree with Andrew Schmitt of Nyquist Capital's conclusion on all this brouhaha:

"The bottom line is what appears to a sheltered American as exploitation is really a ticket to a life away from subsistence farming with no running water, no indoor plumbing, no stable diet. Read about life in New York City during the late 1800’s and you will find conditions far worse than the ones that exist in China today."

In a post back when the story broke earlier this summer, I said:

"Almost ANY product you've bought in a U.S. store over the past decade or so has been produced in conditions equal to or worse than those cited in the Daily Mail article.

And it's not just about Apple iPods, Nike shoes or any garment, designer or not, in our closets.

It's called Globalization and economic progress. 

While the work conditions are tough for those making these wonderful products for us in huge quantities, good quality and inexpensive prices, they'll likely be less tough for their children.  And their grand-children and great-grand children likely will be almost as spoiled us our children our today.

Our parents, grand-parents, and great grand-parents did no less  for most of us in the "developed" world.  It's just been too long ago for many of us to remember."

We need to keep the truly longer-term, both in the past and from the future, in perspective when getting roiled up with stories such as these.

Comments

[kareem]

Thanks for following up on the story.

Good to hear Apple is being diligent in response to the Daily Mail story, too.

Globalization may be economic progress, but economic progress often leaves out human costs. Nobody wants a slightly better existence than a life of farming and no plumbing, and companies like Apple have an opportunity to enable people to get to better standards of living.

It's a shame they don't take those opportunities in the name of increasing shareholder value.

I guess it comes down to belief systems; I believe that companies should have a role in directly making the lives of their employees better, and I have seen lots of evidence that this leads to greater profitability.

I guess, then, that it's my opportunity to share that information with people who can make a difference! :)

Kareem