ComputerWorld - "We're asking Apple for strategic reasons and because we think they'll actually do this," said Elizabeth O'Connell, campaigns director at Green America, when asked why the focus wasn't Samsung, which is the world's largest smartphone maker.
"We are less hopeful that Samsung will do this anytime soon," she said. "But if we can get Apple to be the first mover, we will have a lot more leverage against Samsung."
A string of suicides among workers in Chinese electronics factories turned the spotlight on the sometimes poor working conditions endured by workers who produce gadgets like iPhones. After initially appearing to downplay the problem, Apple has taken a number of proactive steps to improve conditions and conducts several hundred audits of its suppliers each year.
It has pressured its suppliers to improve working conditions, imposed a number of new conditions on them and begun publishing regular reports on how they are doing. But the reports aren't detailed enough for some.
The letter to Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environmental affairs...