The power of purchasing principles

For those that doubt the power of civil society demands for socially just business practices a new report from Apple should prove the validity (and power) of responsible living.

In June, Apple computers -- the makers of iPod -- was accused by a British tabloid for allegedly allowing the production of iPods in Chinese sweatshops -- sweatshops that are notorious for poor and, at times, dangerous working conditions.

On August 17, Apple went a long way to answering those charges.

The report, released by the multi-national computer company, clearly states that after investigating the accusations a decision was reached to force reforms at their Chinese production affiliates -- namely at the offending plant, owned by Hon Hai Precision Industries in Longhua, China. (These reforms will primarily address housing issues as well as forced overtime).

Apple also recommitted to their socially just/ethical mandate (a mandate that initially poised the company as one of North America's most socially responsible corporations) by committing to ongoing audits of all its factories where products are assembled. This committment will be undertaken by Verite, based in Amherst, Mass., and will allow Apple to constitently monitor affiliate sites for violations.

The reality is, Apple is under no obligation to dictate better working conditions within production plants based in China (or other countries with minimal labour standards). Yet, Apple (and other multi-national corporations, such as Cisco) choose to operate under this ethics rubric.

The rational is that socially just business practices allow the corporation to grow and prosper based on ethical standards -- standards that more and more consumers are demanding.

While a few still bemoan the world's inability to enforce set standards for business and labour, it is important to remind ourselves that many international laws are, in fact, completely unenforceable.

There is no unified world police force (despite what Bush Jr. might say), no international entity that has the authority to enforce standards and principles. However, this does not mean that social justice values cannot be established and maintained.

Like many governmental and commercial standards the enforcement of conventions is through shame and dollar-votes. This method of persuasion and coercian has been in place for centuries and while a few of these standards have been canonized in international law, the practicality is that many of these laws are still enforced through these archaic methods.

Hence, the importance of Apple's report. The accusations of substandard treatment of workers affiliated with the Apple brand was thoroughly and openly investigated and reported on within 45 days. The rapidity of the investigation, the subsequent report and the corporation's committment to enforce it's internally mandated principles shows that shame, dollar-votes and a conscious really do have an impact on corporate policy.

For us, in North America this is a powerful reminder of the Butterfly Effect: one slap of a sawbuck really can buy a form of freedom for another individual on the other side of the world.

For more information on the Apple report on iPod manufacturing go to:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/ipodreport/

For more information on the stories that prompted Apple's investigation into the
production of iPods go to:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=14915