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Originally Posted by Russic
And thank goodness the video showed that none of those things are actually happening. Of course you can say that the factory knew the cameras were going to be there, and they knew of the inspection that occurs during the story by the 3rd party organization. It's also mentioned however that regardless of how much notice the factories are given for a visit, in a community of that size it's almost impossible to totally hide things like child labour and inhumane conditions.
I understand the argument that Apple makes the most money so they should be the ones to fix it, I just don't totally agree. At what profit level do companies have to start caring about the conditions of their assembly line? If Samsung continues to release kick-ass products, do they have to start caring too?
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Who do you trust? ABC news making the one high profile video or the plethora of human rights and workers rights organizations in Hong Kong (the only safe place they were able to exist for many years) who have been the watch dogs of mainland China since before Tienanmen? I have a cousin who quit her job as a corporate lawyer to work for one of these non-profits in Hong Kong and I hear a lot more about these things than is usually displayed in the Western news. In the end, almost every consumer product we buy comes from a similar supply chain and production process. It's simply the nature of the beast. 21st century consumer culture means overworked and underpaid manufacturing somewhere out there.
Companies can care if they want to or not. There is no "water line" that they have to reach before they decide to be socially conscious or ethical in their practices in isolation or in concert with their competitors. It just reflects on their character and sense of social responsibility if they choose to do so or not. If you are the richest man on the block, but you won't give money to the food bank, people are going say things about you. That's all that's happening here. I'm just explaining why some people are seemingly calling out Apple while others are slipping under the radar. That's endemic of human nature to be short-sighted and narrow-minded as well. Everyone's guilty but that's how our world turns so I don't see why people feel the need to defend X company or Y company. Everybody deserves criticism. If I choose not to buy an Apple product, it won't be because of their human rights record because I know it would be hypocritical when so many of the other products I own wouldn't exist without similar processes occurring. If one company really goes out of their way to make a difference and improve their worker's conditions however, I might choose to reward them by buying their product over another. The problem is that you really can't trust what companies will say in their press-releases and marketing campaigns anyway.