Holiday Gift Guide »

40,000 Apple fans sign petition for iPhone 5 ‘made ethically’

By: , IntoMobile
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 2:02 PM
iphone5

After numerous accusations that Apple does not take proper care of its workers, SumOfUs started a petition that is now backed by over 40,000 people. It publicly calls out Apple to ensure that the manufacturing of the iPhone 5 is done with the welfare of employees – particularly in China – in mind.

The controversy began in 2010 when reports of suicides from Foxconn began pouring in due to its harsh working conditions. Steve Jobs commented on them in an interview at AllThingsD‘s D8 conference and said Apple is doing everything it can to investigate Foxconn and rectify any wrongs.

The New York Times published a report a few days ago detailing the terrible working conditions in China and how little the situation has improved since 2010. It talks about the explosion of May 2011 with over a dozen casualties and paints a gruesome picture of the injuries. The SumOfUs petition also describes an eerie story of a young girl inhaling toxic gas each day in factories while she cleans iPhone glass.

Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to these claims in an email to employees by defending the company’s actions thus far. “We reported earlier this month, we’ve made a great deal of progress and improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers,” he said.  ”We know of no one in our industry doing as much as we are, in as many places, touching as many people.”

[via The Register]

About The Author

George Tinari

George has followed technology news for quite some time, but he only started writing about it a few years ago. He's a self-proclaimed Apple fanboy, but that doesn't stop him from covering a wide range of topics in the mobile area. When he's not reporting for IntoMobile, you can usually find George listening to a wide array of music, trying to be funny and sarcastic, eating, or voicing his opinions about all things tech on his personal blog, GT Daily.

Related Phones

Apple iPhone 5

Apple iPhone 5

Note: This phone is RUMORED and has not been announced yet. The iPhone 5 is a rumored successor of the iPhone 4S. It's rumored to come with a 4-inch touchscreen, dual-core processor, two cameras (one… Read More »

Key Features GPS Bluetooth Wifi MP3 3G Network
  • Anonymous

    I signed it even though I do not own a Apple product. 1 of the 2 reasons are gone which was Steve Jobs. Now if they make the products ethically I may some day be an Apple customer. 

  • Anonymous

    lol, dont fool yourselves, Apple doesnt care. All that matters is profit, at any cost!
    Total-Privacy dot US

  • http://www.gtdaily.net/?source=disqus George Tinari

    You don’t like Steve?

  • Anonymous

    I’ve never liked him for his arrogance. 

  • http://dianabol.blog.com/ DIANABOL

    hopefully this will delay it’s release by a few months.