I don’t know that bloody iPhones and skull icons are the best way to make an argument for more ethical labor policies at factories like Foxconn. And the name “iKill” is just as tacky as it is ineffective at evoking some sort of meaningful emotional response.
But numbers? Numbers are powerful things. If anyone taught us that, it was Apple and its contemporaries, hawking gadgets that were twice as fast, half as thin.
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Do you remember that moment in Harry Potter, when that first amazing feast just appeared on the banquet tables of Hogwarts? Ron practically wet himself in anticipation of his first full belly after years of fighting over scraps at the Weasley dinner table. A skeptic might say it was all too good to be true--how could amazing food just appear--but this was the world of Harry Potter. It was magic.
Then in book two, you learned, it wasn’t magic at all! There were just a lot of hard working elves working countless hours to make the whole spectacle possible, and as much as we all loved the late Dumbledore, he was as responsible as anyone for turning a blind eye.
That’s where we are now with Apple. The story has gotten less fun, but finally, we can grow up.
However magical Apple’s products might be, magic doesn’t exist in this world. Industrial production is an exhausting, horribly paying job by the standards of anyone reading this. Apple isn’t the only Foxconn customer by any stretch, but they are the largest, richest, and most lauded. If Apple is taking it on the chin, it’s only because they have the biggest and, at times, smuggest chin of them all.
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Stay hungry? Yes. Stay foolish? Sure. But absolutely, stay disgusted, too. Stay angry.
Because with $108 billion in revenue a year, Apple has every meaningful resource to make things, not just better, but better than ever. And maybe, just maybe, a company like Apple can do something truly great: make us all believe in magic again.
COMMENTARY: In previous blog posts dated October 12, 2011, November 7, 2011, January 13, 2012 and January 31, 2012 I've been investigating and covering the massive pollution being caused by Apple's manufacturers in China, including the suicide of 11 Chinese factory workers and two dangerous chemical explosions at Foxconn International.
What amazes me is the lack of interest or concern demonstrated by owners of Apple iPhones and iPads. Most of them turn a blind eye to the problem and could care less about Apple's massive pollution of China's environment, the deplorable sweat shop conditions experienced by many factory workers, deaths from suicide and illness that Apple has caused from exposure to dangerous chemicals and pollution. They have a very jaded view of things. All they want is their magical devices, so that they can brag how great it works.
I blame the Apple culture because they have igniored the problem for years, and refused to even confirm who their Chinese manufacturer's were until just recently. For years, they have not bothered to conduct regular audits to insure that their Chinese vendors were complying with pollution requirements or that factory workers were not exploited or working under terrible conditions. The only thing that Apple has cared about is making sure their magical devices are produced according to their strict requirements and delivered on time. In short, it's all about the allmighty dollar, and to hell with the Chinese worker.
If you are an owner of Apple products, I urge you to boycott them, stop buying them altogether and recommend the same thing to your friends. That's the least you could do to demonstrate that you picked a truly bad company to buy your music players, phones and tablets from.
When I saw the iKill infographic, it just had to be posted on my blog. Enjoy, then ask yourself, "What would Steve do?"
Courtesy of an article dated March 2, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design
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