Bad Apple: Could the Era of

Exploitation Outsourcing Be Near Its

End?
Recent scathing stories about working conditions in the creation of iPads and iPhones are a telling moment for
Apple Inc. and other global corporations. Could this latest episode of outrage over worker mistreatment at an
outsourced factory signal that the age of exploitation outsourcing is waning? I think so.

You've probably heard about one or both of the stories that have rattled Apple's massive customer base and the
rest of the public. First, This American Life broadcast the first-person account of Mike Daisey, a self-
proclaimed Apple enthusiast who traveled to China to see how apple products were made—and was horrified at
what he found.
Then the New York Times published a long story about harsh, dangerous working conditions at factories
making Apple products. Daisey says he met with workers whose hand joints have "disintegrated" from
repetitive work, while the New York Times piece centered on the tale of a young employee killed in an
explosion of aluminum dust.
Apple is far from alone in tapping cheaper overseas labor employed by third-party firms. Many U.S. companies
have tried to wash their hands of the actual making of things. They may have decent or enlightened labor
practices for their direct employees. But by farming out production to suppliers in China and other low-wage
countries with few labor protections, they often have outsourced not just work but worker abuse.

But for the most part, U.S. consumers have been willing to turn a blind eye to Apple and others. In essence,
consumers have focused on Apple's remarkable products rather than how they are produced. Right now,
customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China.
That goes for me, too. I have written critically about labor issues at Apple. But I've had a series of Mac laptop
computers for more than a decade. Apple has addressed supply-chain problems in recent years to some degree.
But our collective apathy about working conditions behind iPods, iPhones and the like has allowed the company
to prioritize speed and profit over decent treatment of people.
But that's changing. In recent years, there has been a shift in attitudes among consumers toward a desire to do
business with companies that show "kindness" in their operations. People also are increasingly identifying as
"global citizens," meaning they have more empathy for people on the other side of the world. What's more, tools
such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube give people more opportunities to express themselves.
"We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain," Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly wrote in a
memo to employees in the wake of the stories. But the public isn't buying it. It sees some rotten labor practices
at the core of Apple. And, increasingly, people, including Apple's own employees, will demand better of the
company.The bottom line for Apple and other companies is that a shameful supply chain is less and less viable.
Happily, the age of farming out worker exploitation is coming to a close.
Ed Frauenheim is senior editor at Workforce Management. To comment, write
toefrauenheim@workforce.com.