Apple, China, and sweatshops

An article by Caleb    1 Comment

It’s somewhat unsettling to be reminded that the luxury’s we enjoy every day are often the result of appalling working conditions.  The latest reminder of this is Apple’s problems with its factory’s in China.  There are allegations, as reported by The Independent, that the working conditions in Chinese factory’s that make Apple products are far below the standard set by Apple.  Most of its 102 factories, allegedly, have flouted its rules of working hours, amongst other things.  But does this come as a surprise?  We’ve long known that overall, the working conditions in Chinese factories is less than great.  Reports emerged recently about workers in a factory making Microsoft products, who worked 15-hour shifts for minimal pay, under strict conditions.  For some reason, we expect better from these organisations whose products we enjoy so much.  Perhaps we think “socially responsible” companies like Apple and Microsoft shouldn’t, or wouldn’t let this happen with their products.  And maybe they genuinely didn’t know.  Maybe Apple did set out stringent guidelines, but the factory owners in China purposely flouted that in the name of increased production.  This is probably what happened.  In any case, at what point do we actually stop buying these companies’ products?

Indeed, the conditions in these Chinese factories is atrocious compared to what is allowed in the Western world.  But we forget that our society was built on slave labour.  The British slave plantations in the Caribbean in the 17th and 18th Century contributed largely to Britain’s economic prosperity, and allowed them to enjoy an increasingly high quality of life.  Even during the industrial revolution in Britain, it was common for children to be employed in cotton factories, at least until that was abolished in the early 1830s.  So, we’ve had our turn.  We (the West) have employed our fair share of “slave” labour to get to where we are now.  Is it fair for us to point the finger at China and tell them their working conditions are fundamentally wrong?  And does this mean we should tolerate the working conditions in Chinese factories?  Are these conditions justified in allowing them (China) to enjoy the same level of economic prosperity we have?  I don’t believe so.  I’d like to think we’ve reached an enlightened age when it comes to this issue, that we couldn’t possibly go along with this anymore.  Even if we did engage in this in century’s past, times have changed.  We have a universal declaration on human rights, we have laws about this sort of thing.  We don’t tolerate this activity anymore.

Or at least that’s what I’d like to think.  But unfortunately, we do tolerate it.  I think we’d rather ignore the problem than give anything up.  But really, what can we do?  Should we exercise our social conscience and only buy what we know had been produced fairly, even if it means we’re more out of pocket?  Or should we let this activity continue, in the hope that it will, some day, just stop?  There must be a way we can ensure products can be produced without inflicting suffering on those who make them.