Petition calls for “ethical” iPhone 5

With Apple’s labor practices in the spotlight, an online group has started a petition asking the company to make its next iPhone model “ethical.”

Nearly 40,000 people have signed the petition to Apple on the online petition site called SumofUs.org, asking Apple to “overhaul the way its suppliers treat their workers in time for the launch of the iPhone 5.” Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, executive director of SumOfUs, said that — as an Apple user herself — she would like to see Apple reform its labor practices, even if it means taking a hit to it profit margin or passing some of the costs onto consumers. “I think there are lots of people who love Apple products, but are unhappy about the labor conditions,” she said. “We believe there are many ethical consumers out there who identify with these brands and want that part of their life to be equally as ethical. If you wouldn’t have a slave in your home, you also wouldn’t want to have one making your iPhone.” Stinebrickner-Kauffman would also like to see Apple open its factories to independent audits.