What is your favorite media playing device? Maybe your iPod, be it the iPod mini, the iPod shuffle or the iPod nano. No matter what its shape, size and capacity is, a lot of us enjoy using iPod. The convenience of having music, photos anytime and anywhere is just awesome. Apple has not just been into the business of giving consumers great computers, they have also invaded the multimedia scene through these gadgets.
This past week, there has been news that Apple has sweatshops in China. Who has been making your iPod? Ever wondered about that? Sometimes consumerism has made us only concerned with the specs and the quality of the products we enjoy. Nick Webster supposedly exposed Apple’s secret: it has sweatshops in China. According to his report:
- there are more than 100 people in the dorm rooms
- the dorms are single-sex
- there are military-like drills in one of the factories
- workers are required to work 15 hours a day and they get paid only $50 a month
However, there has also been a report later in the week regarding Apple’s investigation of the conditions of the factory employees. To quote an article with Apple’s said response:
Apple stated it “is committed to ensuring that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible. (we are) currently investigating the allegations regarding working conditions in the iPod manufacturing plant in China. We do not tolerate any violations of our supplier code of conduct posted at apple.com/environment. That code says, among other things, that a work week should be restricted to 60 hours and that suppliers “may not discriminate against any worker based on race, color, age [or] gender…”
More than the quality and brand of media player we use everyday, sometimes we need to also look beyond these details and find out what goes on before we get our gadgets. For now, we have yet to wait and see what else Apple has to say about the practices in the factories by the company subcontractor Foxconn.