Apple Finds Underage Labor Problem At Suppliers

Apple (AAPL) found that three of the companies that provide it with components to build its products employ underage workers. Apple’s 2010 Supplier Responsibility reports says that “Apple discovered three facilities that had previously hired 15-year-old workers in countries where the minimum age for employment is 16.”

Apple also found that some suppliers inappropriately disposed of hazardous waste.

The huge consumer electronics company reported that it “discovered three facilities that had hired noncertified hazardous waste disposal companies. We classified these instances as core violations and required all three facilities to immediately stop shipping waste and to hire certified vendors for all of their hazardous waste disposal.”

The press and investors will probably take the firm to task for the actions of its suppliers, but that is hardly fair. Apple has suppliers across the globe, particularly in Asia. The new report covers 102 facilities which employ 13,000 workers. A complete day-to-day account of what these suppliers do is impossible. It is actually impressive that Apple audits them as closely as it does.

Douglas A. McIntyre