Steve Jobs: Apple Supplier "Not A Sweatshop" (AAPL)

The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based non-profit, issued a report today criticizing Apple's AAPL environmental and worker-safety track record in China. The report, entitled "The Other Side of Apple," detailed the findings of a nine-month survey of Apple's Chinese suppliers conducted by the IPE and several other green groups. According to the report, Apple consistently failed to uphold environmental and worker-safety standards, producing a toxic shop floor environment. The survey found that at least 49 workers in eastern China fell ill due to factory conditions at Apple's assembly plants. Although Apple denies the group's allegations, critics point to Apple's lengthy history of heath and environmental negligence in China. A wave of worker suicides last year at Foxconn, Apple's primary China supplier, brought increased scrutiny to Apple's supply chain management. Apple CEO Steve Jobs refuted Apple's culpability for the suicides and asserted that, contrary to reports, Foxconn was "not a sweatshop." However, this new round of allegations raises serious doubts about Apple's supplier oversight. The report ranked Apple last out of 29 global tech companies in responsiveness and transparency. IPE spokesperson Ma Jun acknowledged the difficulties faced by Apple, and other technology manufacturers, in China, but asserted that "peer brands are doing a lot more (thank Apple) to deal with this." Apple is currently down 2.33 percent from yesterday's close, and is trading at $330.96 per share.