Will child labour claims stop you buying Apple?
An audit of Apple's suppliers has found all sort of transgressions. But will we ever take notice of the real reasons that our cheap electronics are so inexpensive?
Was your iPod built on the back of child labour? That's something everyone should be wondering after Apple said an audit of factories highlighted numerous failures at factories that supply it - and other companies - with electronics.
The report, which is posted online, lists a litany of failures - including several instances of 15-year-olds being employed by the unnamed suppliers, nearly two-thirds of factories failing to pay workers properly, long hours and poor environmental and safety credentials. The company, not surprisingly, says it wants to "eliminate" these violations.
You can take several positions on the affair: that it's reprehensible that Apple should ever work with companies that treat employees so badly, that it's positive that an audit had picked up such transgressions, that Apple has to really up its game and make changes.
Will child labour claims stop you buying Apple? | Technology | guardian.co.uk