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I’ve been following Mike Daisey’s work for quite some time, and was bummed that I missed his one-man show, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, when I visited New York this past November. Despite my weariness with This American Life, this week’s Daisey-centric episode is a must-listen. It includes an interview with Daisey, as well as excerpts from his show, in which he evocatively, shockingly, and at times hilariously details his trip to China to view the factories where Apple devices are made. The unethical labor practices that produce our iDevices are modern atrocities, and Apple plays an outsized role in perpetuating them because of the company’s skill at dominating the supply and manufacturing chain.
Own Apple devices and hate to play a part in such exploitation? Let Apple know:
Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.996.1010Tim Cook (CEO)
Arthur Levinson (Chairman)
Online: Apple product feedback page (I’d recommend sending one for each device you own)
Don’t own Apple devices? You’re not off the hook, and neither are the makers of your devices. A truncated list of the other companies that also manufacture their products at the same plants as Apple: Acer, Amazon, Dell, HP, Intel, Logitech, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba.
Whether you own an iPad, iMac, iPhone, Kindle, Wii, Samsung phone, Dell laptop, XBox, Sharp TV, Playstation, or others, this is your problem too. This is too important to get embroiled in platform partisanship (AKA fanboyism) or get mislead by the media’s outsized attention on Apple because the iPhone makes for better SEO and ratings than the latest Samsung Galaxy Whateverthefuck.
People’s lives and bodies are being destroyed by our hunger for high-tech devices at the lowest possible cost, and we’re all to blame. The only thing that will improve matters is consumer pressure directed at all of the major tech companies which engage in these manufacturing processes (which is, to varying degrees, every single tech company.) Complain to all these companies and let them know you demand more ethical labor practices, whatever brand you happen to prefer. You can find contacts for these companies at The Consumerist Company Directory.
To hear more about Daisey’s show and what can be done to improve labor practices in offshore and third-world manufacturing, check out his interview with Julie Klausner.
For some more background on the unethical labor practices behind our devices—not only in the manufacturing process, but also regarding the “conflict minerals” used in the devices—here’s some other pieces I’ve written:
- Demanding Ethical Gadgets
- Are Retailers Complicit in the Sale of Conflict Minerals?
- Steve Jobs Is Dead, And So Is My Dad: Two Very Different Silicon Valley Stories
Additional background and resources worth checking out:
- After Suicides, Scrutiny of China’s Grim Factories
- 1 Million Workers. 90 Million iPhones. 17 Suicides. Who’s to Blame?
- Raise Hope for Congo
- iPhone’s Darkside Exposed by New Banned Game App
