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Apple new product rumours and general news

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sim667 said:
Everyone can keep on banging on about the workers in china and how apple are satan incarnate, but they're still the only tech company (that I know of) belonging to a Fair Labor organisation and have started the process of auditing foxconn with the intention of making changes.

So in my honest opinion its those who are buying other brands made by foxconn who should really be asking about their own choice of brands. And realistically its for the government of china to make sure that working conditions are up to scratch, and having visitied about 4 or 5 factories personally that make your plates that you buy in brand shops in the UK how is it that no-one sits up and pays attention to those brands, because I can guarantee from first hand experience that those factories have literally no health and safety, and shit working conditions, 2 of the factories I went to basically had its workers living in a ramshackle slum of tents and wood all year round out back, and they were supplying household brand names here too.

And the incessant links to stories on here about it is a bit childish and irritating, the whole topic needs its own thread.

edit: Took brand name out.
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The funny thing is the argument put forward was that you have to focus on Apple because they have the most money and are leaders in this field so if they changed others would follow...
 
Pressure should be put on the chinese government to improve working conditions across all factories. Not make it the focus of apple. Every area of retail that has products made in china is guilty of this.
 
sim667 said:
Pressure should be put on the chinese government to improve working conditions across all factories. Not make it the focus of apple. Every area of retail that has products made in china is guilty of this.
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The pressure should be on foxconn and the government, it should highlight ALL companies that use these factories and endorse these practices. The aim should be to make the lives of the workers better, not to for fan bois to be able to feel smug while pointing the finger at their favourite company to hate.
 
Kid_Eternity said:
The pressure should be on foxconn and the government, it should highlight ALL companies that use these factories and endorse these practices. The aim should be to make the lives of the workers better, not to for fan bois to be able to feel smug while pointing the finger at their favourite company to hate.
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For sure. And the best place to start is with the company that is making the most money out of this exploitation. Sorry if that happens to be your favourite company, but as any activist will tell you, it makes sense to go for the most high-profile companies first.
 
A company by company approach isn't really a solution. How would it work; Fox employees making Apple products in Shed A will get better conditions than those making shiny stuff for someothercompany in Shed B.
 
maldwyn said:
A company by company approach isn't really a solution. How would it work; Fox employees making Apple products in Shed A will get better conditions than those making shiny stuff for someothercompany in Shed B.
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Didn't happen that way with animal testing/sweatshop campaigns at all. Nike were targeted by sweatshop campaigns and forced to change their ways, and almost all their rivals followed suit*.
Same happened with Boots over animal testing.

*the inevitable mix of greenwash notwithstanding
 
The Nike campaign group explains their rationale for going for the biggest company. The parallels with Apple seem obvious to me.
...it's important to pick a company that can afford the cost of improvements. Nike is so profitable and sells its shoes for such high prices that it can well afford to double the workers' wages without increasing the retail price.

Thirdly, Nike is the biggest shoe company in the world and puts itself forth as an industry leader. Their Code of Conduct says: "in the area of human rights... in the communities in which we do business, we seek to do not only what is required, but what is expected of a leader." By targeting the industry leader, we hoped to make changes throughout the whole industry. This strategy has proven effective. Reebok, for example, has been making improvements in its overseas factories even though it has not been the target of a major campaign. Adidas, fearful of being tarred with the Nike brush, is starting to make changes as well.
http://www.globalexchange.org/sweatfree/nike/faq
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maldwyn said:
A company by company approach isn't really a solution. How would it work; Fox employees making Apple products in Shed A will get better conditions than those making shiny stuff for someothercompany in Shed B.
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Yep, market dynamic will just play itself out, those serious will look for new ways to achieve this end.
 
Editor, I'm not arguing against you, what's happening to workers in China is truly shocking. However, singling out Apple can be counterproductive, their woefully inadequate steps to monitor the situation is a joke but they are limited in what they can do.

Blame the Chinese government for allowing it and our consumerism for supporting it - it's unfair to focus on just those who buy Apple products - a quick flip through my Argos catalogue and it's a challenge trying to find something not Made in China.
 
maldwyn said:
However, singling out Apple can be counterproductive, their woefully inadequate steps to monitor the situation is a joke but they are limited in what they can do.
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I disagree, for the reasons set out by the Nike campaign strategy. Apple are obscenely rich. Disgustingly rich. They could make conditions better for millions of workers and still have immense wealth left in their overstuffed accounts. Targeting the one company making billions more out of this exploitation than anyone else is an obvious, logical move.
 
maldwyn said:
Editor, I'm not arguing against you, what's happening to workers in China is truly shocking. However, singling out Apple can be counterproductive, their woefully inadequate steps to monitor the situation is a joke but they are limited in what they can do.

Blame the Chinese government for allowing it and our consumerism for supporting it - it's unfair to focus on just those who buy Apple products - a quick flip through my Argos catalogue and it's a challenge trying to find something not Made in China.
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Well quite, Apple having the most money is a red herring too. They are just one company, if ALL the big players stood up and said they wanted reforms in return for their continued business Foxconn and China would take note. But they're not going to for some clear geo political reasons, expecting Apple to go it alone is naive at best and just another boring smear at worse.
 
Why doesn't this thread get renewed every month a la the Brixton chitter chatter one...? it's fucking huge... really needs its own sub-forum..
 
gabi said:
Why doesn't this thread get renewed every month a la the Brixton chitter chatter one...? it's fucking huge... really needs its own sub-forum..
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LOL! I'm not sure it needs it's own subforum but yeah it could do we refreshing every now and then. I try to start threads based around news or specific topics to peel off discussion so this isn't too hard to follow that might be one way to go, to devolve discussion?
 
Kid_Eternity said:
LOL! I'm not sure it needs it's own subforum but yeah it could do we refreshing every now and then. I try to start threads based around news or specific topics to peel off discussion so this isn't too hard to follow that might be one way to go, to devolve discussion?
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mac, windows and Linux separate subforums I think would be a good idea, same with smart phone platforms.
 
sim667 said:
mac, windows and Linux separate subforums I think would be a good idea, same with smart phone platforms.
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Start a poll thread and see what people say. Not sure there's a big demand myself but might worth taking the temperature of posters on the idea...
 
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