Apple's new product release expected to break records - just remember who dies for our toys

[piratefish08]

People are standing in ridiculous lines to gain toys and social status.


here's the other side of the story:

[seveneyes]

1. It's not just Apple and modern goods

If you drill down the supply chain of almost anything you'll find bad and ugly along with the good. Just look at what the Cereal killers leave behind in their wake of harvested grains.

[piratefish08]

3. there are abuses and trade-offs in many industries - this is by far one of the most horrendous......

but we assuage our guilt by pretending the problem doesn't exist......

I'm sort of a hypocrite for using a computer to make this type of post, but I use a 6 year old Macbook that I bought used and I will keep it until it finally goes tits up.

The next one I buy will be used as well.

I'm a part of the problem, but as small a part as I can manage to be.

[gopiscrap]

2. Thank you, good reminder!

I taught in Hong Kong and saw the exploitation and it's effects first hand.

[frazzled]

4. Apple maps its supply chain

and attempts to source conflict-free materials. I don't know about the other "toy" (as you put it) manufacturers.

Sourcing conflict-free materials.

Apple is committed to using conflict-free minerals, and we’ve joined the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade, a joint initiative among governments, companies, and civil society to support supply chain solutions to conflict minerals challenges in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As one of the first electronics companies to map its supply chain for conflict minerals, we actively survey suppliers to confirm their smelter sources. As of December 2012, we have identified 211 smelters and refiners from which our suppliers source tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold.

Apple suppliers are using conflict-free sources of tantalum, are certifying their tantalum smelters, or are transitioning their sourcing to already certified tantalum smelters. We will continue to work to certify qualified smelters, and we’ll require our suppliers to move their sourcing of tin, tungsten, and gold to certified conflict-free sources as smelters become certified.

In an industrywide effort to help suppliers source conflict-free materials, we continue to align our program with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines, and we are working with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI). The primary focus of the EICC and GeSI Conflict-Free Smelter programs is to certify qualified smelters as conflict-free through an independent third-party audit process.

http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/labor-and-human-rights.html