Apple's Secretive Supply Chain Hides 'Pollution and Poison' in China, New Report

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/bill-berkowitz/33897/apples-secretive-supply-chain-hides-pollution-and-poison-in-china-new-report

If you're the type that checks out news on business and technology, on any given day you're likely to find some thing(s) about Apple Computer, Inc. Over the past few weeks, one of the most significant stories involving the company revolved around the health of Steve Jobs. The co-founder and CEO of Apple announced that once again he would be taking a medical leave of absence. Jobs' medical leave was announced around the same time that the company posted huge profits and had record sales of its products during the fourth quarter of 2010. While Jobs' health is of great concern to fans, followers and Apple stockholders, many analysts are confident that the company will continue moving forward - although it might never be the same without Jobs.

One news item, however, that got considerably less media coverage than Jobs' latest medical leave and Apple's robust fourth quarter, was a 26-page report released by a coalition of environmental groups, spearheaded by a Beijing, China-based nonprofit organization, that ranked Apple last out of 29 global technology companies "in terms of responsiveness and transparency to health and environmental concerns in China," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"Behind their stylish image, Apple products have a side many do not know about - pollution and poison. A side hidden deep within the company's secretive supply chain," read a statement by the groups that released the report.

The report, titled "The Other Side of Apple", is accompanied by a video of the same name. The video juxtaposes shots of triumphant Apple Computer spokespersons - most notably Jobs -- announcing the latest in Apple's line of new products, against heartbreaking testimonies of mostly young, severely ill workers at factories in China where Apple products are assembled.

More at the link --