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Apple's China audits don't inspire the same from other companies
As TUAW has reported previously, Apple is working with the Fair Labor Association on a study of working conditions at supplier factories. The independent audits are attempting to determine areas where workers may be exposed to poor or dangerous working or living conditions so that changes can be made for the sake of the workers. Those audits have begun, but according to a Bloomberg article this morning, Apple's peers in the consumer electronics industry don't seem to be following suit. The Bloomberg post notes that "companies including Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. rely on their own evaluations, based in part on guidelines from the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), which they say are sufficient to prevent abuses." However, "while the EICC sets standards for ethics, worker safety and labor practices, it doesn't require members to disclose findings and it lacks enforcement powers. The result is a disjointed system of self- imposed regulations that fail to hold companies accountable when abuses arise, according to labor advocates and technology executives." Apple has been receiving a lot of attention from the press and worker's rights groups, who are targeting the company with petitions, protests, and threats of boycotts. It appears that most of the other players in the business are able to get away with equally bad (or worse) working and environmental conditions without any comment. As The Loop's Peter Cohen notes, "Where's the outrage from citizen's groups and environmental groups?" The biggest target is always the easiest to hit, so hopefully these groups will begin to focus their attention on the other electronics firms now that they've managed to get Apple to keep an eye on suppliers.
Just say no: Apple and Intel stop using conflict minerals
While the US government hasn't issued an outright ban against the use of 'conflict minerals' coming from the Congo, it has passed a law that will require companies who use them to tell all of us when our gadgets have been paid for (in part) with blood. Looks like Apple and Intel weren't too keen on the bad PR that would come from such disclosures, and joined the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and its Conflict-Free Smelter program. The program requires mineral processing plants either prove that they don't fund the ongoing hostilities in central Africa or peddle their war-supporting wares elsewhere. For now, that means that the folks in Cupertino and Santa Clara will have to find other sources for the three Ts (tungsten, tin, and tantalum) needed to sate our technological appetites.
