Introducing the iFactory

[Commentary] Apple’s production practices have been a subject of consternation for several years.

CEO Tim Cook should launch a long-term plan to completely remake Chinese contract manufacturing—a plan that improves factory conditions, raises wages, and, over the long run, reduces the number of workers needed to make electronics. He should do so publicly, telling the world exactly what’s wrong with how we make gadgets now, and how Apple plans to fix the system. And he should do so with the same commitment to excellence that Apple brings to its products—setting high standards, and meting out severe punishment for contractors who fail to meet them.

Why should Apple revolutionize electronics manufacturing? Not just because it’s the right thing to do—even a company as successful as Apple can’t afford to spend billions just to make itself feel better. The more pressing problem is its image; if Apple ignores this problem, the specter of “conflict iPhones” is going to swallow its brand. While there is no evidence to suggest that Apple’s factories are any worse than those of its competitors—in fact, many of them use the same contractors to make their devices—no company benefits more from low-cost Chinese labor than Apple. If it continues to deliver monster earnings, scrutiny of its factories isn’t going to stop.

What’s more, Apple is in a unique position to change how the world’s gadgets are made.