A+ in toxic chemical ranking
In 2019 the Mind the Store campaign ranked 43 major US retailers on their efforts to eliminate toxic chemicals from consumer products. This company received a grade of A+.
Conflict Minerals Ranking
In November 2017 the Enough Project published Demand the Supply, which ranked consumer electronics and jewelry retail companies on their efforts to develop conflict-free minerals supply chains from Congo. Companies were ranked on reporting; sourcing conflict-free minerals from Congo; supporting the artisanal mining communities in Eastern Congo; and conflict-free minerals advocacy. This company received the highest overall score.
71/100 in KnowTheChain Benchmark
In 2018 KnowTheChain benchmarked 120 large global companies in the ICT, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear sectors on their efforts to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. This company received a score of 71/100.
83.7% in conflict minerals rankings
As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 83.7% (Leading).
Child labour in gold mining
This 2016 scorecard by SOMO compares electronics companies on their policies and efforts regarding responsible mining and the elimination of child labour, with special attention to the mining of gold. This company is above industry standard on 5 out of 7 criteria.
B+ grade at Behind the Barcode
B+ grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's Behind the Barcode 'Ethical Electronics Guide 2016', which grades companies on their efforts to mitigate the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation throughout their supply chains. Assessment criteria fall into four main categories: policies, traceability & transparency, monitoring & training and worker rights.
Cobalt battery supply chain
A 2017 report by Amnesty International, 'Time to Recharge' ranks major electronics and car companies on how much they have improved their cobalt sourcing practices since January 2016. The report found that while a handful of companies have made progress, many are still not doing enough to stop human rights abuses entering their cobalt supply chains, even though their products could be linked to child labour in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This company was rated 'adequate action taken'.
100% on Corporate Equality Index
This company is listed as having best practice on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Poisoned workers in China
The 2017 documentary 'Complicit' reveals how Chinese workers making Apple consumer electronics are exposed to poisonous chemicals, in particular cleaning solutions containing benzene. The landmark investigation led Apple to ban the use of benzene, a known carcinogen, and n-hexane, a chemical that damages the nervous system. But the ban does not apply to subcontractors who make up two-thirds of Apple's supply chain.
This company appears on Burma Campaign UK's 'Dirty List' of companies assisting the Burmese military to continue to commit human rights violations and environmental destruction. The Apple App Store carries applications for Burmese military-owned companies, including Mytel.
This 2014 report by China Labour Watch (CLW) investigates working conditions at a Chinese factory supplying to Apple. The report reveals many labour violations in this factory, including long hours, excessive overtime, dangerous working conditions, low wages, and underpaid workers. CLW investigated the same factory 16 months earlier, and conditions worsened during that time.
The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including brands owned by this company. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 2020 report estimates (somewhat conservatively) that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps.
Engineers from ifixit.com disassembled and analysed a range of smartphones, tablets and laptops, awarding each a repairability score between one and ten. Ten is the easiest to repair. A device with a perfect score will be relatively inexpensive to repair because it is easy to disassemble and has a service manual available. Points are docked based on the difficulty of opening the device, the types of fasteners found inside, and the complexity involved in replacing major components. Points are awarded for upgradability, use of non-proprietary tools for servicing, and component modularity. Laptops and tablets released by this company between 2017 and 2019 scored between 1 and 3 points, while their iPhones score 6 points.
Biel Crystal supplies 60% of the world's touchscreen cover glasses, including 60% of Apple products' cover glasses. This SACOM 2013 investigative report discovered serious labour rights abuses in Biel Crystal's Chinese factories including excessive working hours, military-style management, worker suicides and blank work contracts. Moreover, Biel Crystal's Shenzhen factory has been fined by the Shenzhen municipal government for 3 continuous years of polluting the environment. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Workers rights at Foxconn in China
In this 2012 investigative report SACOM revisited Foxconn's plants in Zhengzhou, China, whose sole product is the iPhone. Workers are still facing deplorably harsh working conditions including excessive overtime, unpaid overtime, meager wages, inadequate training and protection for workers, arbitrary relocation of workforce, crackdown on strikes, and inhumane management practices. [Listed under information due to age of report]
This 2012 report by China Labour Watch investigates ten Chinese factories supplying to Apple. The report reveals many labour violations in these factories, including long hours, excessive overtime, dangerous working conditions, low wages, and underpaid workers. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Chemical poisoning of workers
The Poisonous Pearl is a 2016 report by Good Electronics which focuses on the experiences of (former) workers in the electronics industry in China who are victims of chemical poisoning. The health of all the workers in the report was damaged by exposure to hazardous chemicals such as benzene and n-hexane. All were working in large or small factories in the Pearl River Delta-region of China, an area well known as being a global hub for the production of consumer electronics (ICT). This company is supplied by factories in the region.