We live in a world where we rarely stop to think about where the food we eat, the oil we burn and the products we use come from.  Recently, the radio program “This American Life” exposed the horrific working conditions in Apple’s Chinese factories that manufacture the iPhone.  Finding it cheaper to use human labor than to automate, the factory assigns workers to shifts that has them performing the same repetitive tasks, sometimes for up to 35 hours straight, often resulting in debilitating and irreversible carpal tunnel syndrome.  This was on top of New York Times reporting in 2011 that documented high rates of worker suicide at Apple’s Foxconn component plant in China.

Apple can do better, and it should.  Even if it means we all pay a bit more for our iPhones and iPads.  To its credit, Apple has taken some steps already to improve conditions, including allowing the Fair Labor Association to audit its now publicly released list of suppliers.  That resulted in the discovery of six instances of child labor violations.  What Apple should do next is make public a comprehensive worker protection strategy, and release the results of all of its audits for complete transparency.  An online petition, begun by my good friend and iDevice user Mark Shields, asks just that. 

Take a moment and read and sign the petition, not only to send a message to Apple, but to make a statement that you care about your fellow humans on this planet, and that better and cheaper gadgets should not come at the cost of misery for over a million people.

Sign the online petition to Apple 

–GHT