Environmentalists dissatisfied with Apple's lack of social responsibility in China

Apple released its Supplier Responsibility Progress Report in 2011 Tuesday, towards which Chineseenvironmentalists showed dissatisfaction and pointed out that the firm averted a big deal of responsibility as well as social commitment, according to a 21st Century Business Herald report Tuesday.
The environmentalists criticized that although the report indicated improvements in its management of suppliers, the company still tried to push away its portion of responsibility in recent "scandals" involving suppliers, mentioning the suicides at Foxconn and the positioning case at Wintek Corporation, two of which represent the company on the Chinese mainland.
According to Ma Jun, chief of the Institute of Public &Environmental Affairs (IPE), in the factory where dozens fell ill, only those workers who produce parts for Apple were victimized. Some workers said that Apple asked the firm to cover the workbench with plastics to ensure a dust proof environment for its screens, which left employees in a closed environment.
According to the environmentalists, based on a survey to a range of IT giants, compared with other IT giants like Hewlett-Packard (HP) and General Electric Co (GE), Apple's management on suppliers' social responsibility lags behind its peers and does not apply to its rising position in the IT field.
Apple's report is based on its survey results to its 127 suppliers and showed that in 2010, 37 suppliers were found to adopt behaviors that seriously violate Apple's rules for suppliers, more than 17 in 2009.