I came across this piece in the New York Times this weekend, via a friend’s blog, and I just don’t even know what to do with it.
Who isn’t in love with every new Apple product?
Who hasn’t heard Steve Jobs being praised as one the greatest men of our time?
But really…all at the cost of human life?
There is a lot here to process and think through.
Do we ever stop to think about how shiny, new, amazing, luxuries made their way into our hands?
Thoughts?
-M.C.
“We’re trying really hard to make things better,” said one former Apple executive. “But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.”
“You can either manufacture in comfortable, worker-friendly factories, or you can reinvent the product every year, and make it better and faster and cheaper, which requires factories that seem harsh by American standards,” said a current Apple executive.
“And right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China.”
the graduate wife 
I read that, too, and to me it seems a bit ridiculous to blame it on the consumer who just HAS to have the newest and latest every year (as one executive mentioned in the article)! I actually wish they would all take their time making quality products that have latest the bells and whistles all at once, so we wouldn’t have to update to a whole new product every year when they release the next new feature. They obviously knew about the feature before, but this way, holding it back one year, they sell two iPads instead of one!! That way the also put horrible expectations on their workers and also use up more and more resources than necessary. Bleh.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out a recent This American Life podcast about the very same issue:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory
Thanks for the thoughts and comments and Teranne I totally agree about the unnecessary need for updated models to be done every single year. Where does the responsibility ultimately fall? On the consumers because we keep buying it or the companies producing it?
I will definitely try to check out this podcast as well. Thanks Sarah!
Is Apple the bad guy or is China to blame? There are deeply rooted socio-political issues here that are much bigger than one company. It’s all bad, but there is certainly more than one perspective on how all this tragedy resulted in the death of several workers.