In China Apple's Got A Rotten Core

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NPR has an interesting article about Apple posted today that is sure to piss the company off. Thanks to Edward C. for the link.

In recent years, Apple's Chinese suppliers have been involved in a string of labor and environmental infractions, from a string of suicides linked to poor or inhumane working conditions at plants managed by one of its major suppliers, Foxconn, to allegations by green groups that chemicals leaching out from its factories are polluting China's fields. True, Apple is hardly alone among international companies with Chinese factories in having problems arise from the practices of its suppliers. But what makes Apple singular, say Chinese environmental and labor rights activists, is its sluggishness in responding to complaints and its secretiveness about just which factories are in its supply chain.
 
They don't call them Foxconn Bloodrage motherboards for nothing.
200811250856060051_Bloodrage_left.jpg

Conflict Chips
 
And Apple rightly gets more shit over it because it presents itself as this forward-thinking, hippy dippy company.
 
Would be nice to note that a majority of the components in your computers are made by Foxxconn.
 
At least Apple is consistent. They don't care about their USA workers either :D
 
Slave labor is what makes some great. What is Apple's products main base color? LOL
 
Apple basically buys from whoever can provide what they need cheapest. A lot of us here in America do that - people will one month read all about BP killing off wide swaths of the ecosystem, then the next month go - "Look, that BP station is selling gas 2 cents cheaper, quick, go there!' Or look how much complaining is done about how Walmart treats workers, yet I doubt a very large percentage of people here can say they've never bought something there.

As a society we generally buy from whoever is offering it cheapest, and don't give it's entire route to get to you a second thought.
 
Apple basically buys from whoever can provide what they need cheapest. A lot of us here in America do that - people will one month read all about BP killing off wide swaths of the ecosystem, then the next month go - "Look, that BP station is selling gas 2 cents cheaper, quick, go there!'

I don't.


Or look how much complaining is done about how Walmart treats workers, yet I doubt a very large percentage of people here can say they've never bought something there.

I haven't bought anything there in 10+ years. It's cheap junk, and I don't agree with some of their practices.


As a society we generally buy from whoever is offering it cheapest, and don't give it's entire route to get to you a second thought.

I care. I live by it whenever there is a better option available. I'll bitch about it too, and IMO, I can and be justified because I put my money where my mouth is.
 
I don't care how many Chinese jump off of the Foxconn roof as long as my new rig costs less a month worth of mortgage. While I do think that such an attitude is one of the privileges of living in the 1st World as opposed to somewhere else I am not biased against the Chinese, or Asians in general. I'd say the same thing if the factory were here in the U.S. employing white Americans.

The world works because those who have exploit those who have not. That's the natural order and I am ok with it.
 
And Apple rightly gets more shit over it because it presents itself as this forward-thinking, hippy dippy company.

Exactly present a fashion-centric product expect sales to fall and rise as basic human rights comes in and out of vogue. ironically this only makes things worse for the exploited as it creates a more unstable industry inspiring more fear from owners to provide better working conditions for employees.
 
Let's throw Canna and Thuleman in the arena. Would make an interesting match, with their diametrically opposed views of how we should treat others, eh?
 
Not unexpected...

We already knew through previous incidents of ethics lapses at plants that manufacture Apple products, that Apple just requires their suppliers to "sign" a document that they will abide by Apple's workplace ethics... and Apple does not actually look in to actual conditions unless poor working conditions are exposed by investigative reporters and causes them bad publicity.

As others have previously stated, Apple has the "greenest" image of the general technology companies and has the highest proportion of "holier than thou" customers, so is rightly "picked on" more than the others.
 
The world works because those who have exploit those who have not. That's the natural order and I am ok with it.

That's not the world, friend. That's just this several-thousand-year rut humanity's been stuck in. We'd already have been to the stars and back if we spent as much time working together as we do working against each other.
 
frankly, i don't give a shit what turmoil is associated with Apple, as long as stocks are flying high.

The world has exploited china for centuries.
 
Suicide rate at Foxconn is lower than the suicide rate in China as a whole. Not sure people keep repeating the suicide propaganda about Foxconn.
 
I don't.




I haven't bought anything there in 10+ years. It's cheap junk, and I don't agree with some of their practices.




I care. I live by it whenever there is a better option available. I'll bitch about it too, and IMO, I can and be justified because I put my money where my mouth is.

You are not everyone else. Not everyone lives like you do. Actually, a small percentage of the population lives like you do, and that percentage gets smaller as the economic times get worse, because everyone is aware of every penny they spend now.

It's really annoying when people try to present their minority views as the same as everyone else's, especially when the post they respond to specifically states "most people," not "everyone."
 
Why the hell is Apple being held accountable for the way the Government of China runs shit in their own damn country? Am I responsible for the roofer who comes over to my house to fix my roof, and then goes home and beats his wife? Not my fucking problem.
 
Meh, I don't care. Apple isn't responsible for it, but its true about the hypocrisy... but how's that news? Isn't it obvious, it's how almost every corporation, company, etc work?
 
Why the hell is Apple being held accountable for the way the Government of China runs shit in their own damn country? Am I responsible for the roofer who comes over to my house to fix my roof, and then goes home and beats his wife? Not my fucking problem.

Didn't you know that all the cool kids hate Apple? Stop using logic and get on the hate train :p
 
Meh, I don't care. Apple isn't responsible for it, but its true about the hypocrisy... but how's that news? Isn't it obvious, it's how almost every corporation, company, etc work?

What hypocrisy? Does Apple have their own manufacturing operations in China or not? Since the answer is NO, and since Apple has ZERO control over the Chinese government, what the fuck?
 
It's really annoying when people try to present their minority views as the same as everyone else's, especially when the post they respond to specifically states "most people," not "everyone."

I don't necessarily agree with that guy's stance, but I see absolutely nowhere in his post where he presents his view as anything other than his own.

What hypocrisy? Does Apple have their own manufacturing operations in China or not? Since the answer is NO, and since Apple has ZERO control over the Chinese government, what the fuck?

So if you knowingly contract with near-slave labor, you bear absolutely no responsibility? There is a legal term for it, it's called willful blindness.
 
I don't necessarily agree with that guy's stance, but I see absolutely nowhere in his post where he presents his view as anything other than his own.
So if you knowingly contract with near-slave labor, you bear absolutely no responsibility? There is a legal term for it, it's called willful blindness.

Are you breaking any laws in the country of manufacturer? No?
End of discussion.
 
Why the hell is Apple being held accountable for the way the Government of China runs shit in their own damn country? Am I responsible for the roofer who comes over to my house to fix my roof, and then goes home and beats his wife? Not my fucking problem.

Pretty much this. So someone wrote to Steve Jobs to complain and wasn't answered. What did he expect? Steve's a busy man and doesn't answer mails. Even if he does, what is he going to do? Tell China to tell their factory workers to treat their employees better?

Bottom line is it's China's lack of safety law enforcement that's causing problems. Apple has factories in the US too and you don't hear about problems here. Why? Because of safety laws. We actually enforce them, and when a company goes slack and someone reports them, OHSA comes down on them hard.

Yeah it sucks, and sure Apple could do more, like threaten to pull their factories out of China, but then what? Like every other companies, if they bring their work back here in the US, today's Apple prices will have nothing on what future Apple prices will be.

The article mentioned that Apple is hardly alone in ignoring factory conditions in China, but they get the most attention not just because they're sluggish about responding to it, but because of their prestige. Nobody outside of [H] knows Foxxconn does PC and other mobile phones. But thanks to the media, everyone knows about Foxxconn and Apple's relationship.
 
Are you breaking any laws in the country of manufacturer? No?
End of discussion.

So laws are where you get your morality from? So if Apple reheadquartered to Somalia, which basically has no laws, and managers decapitated people for poor performance, you would be OK with that too?
 
And also, I'm not sure why everyone is thinking Apple's hands are tied in this matter. They are in the driving seat, they could absolutely make worker treatment part of the contractual obligation. And with the amount of money they have to spend, Foxconn would do it.

I'm not saying thats what they should do, but to make it sound like Apple is powerless to do anything about this is 100% wrong.
 
My Bloodrage is tear-cooled.... Tears of the desolate drop by temps 2 degree lower than the best coolants on the market.
 
Leave Steve Jobs alone!

He is only doing whats in the best interest to his shareholders and for his company. He has a way to go before he can overthrow evil Bill Gate's spot on the richest persons list. This is the reason he has not known for being very charitable like Bill has been.

He is a great business person with great foresight to produce premium priced items that people line up to buy year after year.

Leave Steve alone! :mad:
 
Why the hell is Apple being held accountable for the way the Government of China runs shit in their own damn country? Am I responsible for the roofer who comes over to my house to fix my roof, and then goes home and beats his wife? Not my fucking problem.

Maybe because of the strict security measures and secrecy Apple employs? You don't normally hear about companies interrogating their employee's to suicide because they leaked pictures of a new phone.
 
Apple is a customer to these companies. They do not own the companies.

WTF...
 
Why the hell is Apple being held accountable for the way the Government of China runs shit in their own damn country? Am I responsible for the roofer who comes over to my house to fix my roof, and then goes home and beats his wife? Not my fucking problem.

hardforum.com

And if you were Steve Jobs you'd be held responsible for the roofer, too.
 
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