The high cost of low prices

Bleak reports detailing less than ideal conditions at Apple's Foxconn factories in China are continuing to surface.

Employees are working six days a week, often in 12-hour shifts, and live in crowded dormitories on-site. There have been deadly explosions at an iPad factory, exposure to toxic chemicals just to clean products faster and installation of safety nets at dormitories following several suicide attempts.

While former Apple executives have admitted that the company wants to improve factory conditions, rapid delivery of new products quickly pushes that idea aside, because customers wanted the newest, sparkliest electronic products yesterday.

Feeling guilty, self-centered and materialistic yet?

Foxconn, of course, is denying allegations, and Apple is refusing to comment, but a "leaked" e-mail from CEO Tim Cook says the company takes the allegations seriously, and is committed to safe working conditions.

Petitions at change.org and SumOfUs have attracted attention by garnering over 250,000 signatures. Demands include ethical production of the iPhone 5, improved worker protection and increased monitoring of suppliers.

Unfortunately, consumers will still continue to buy Apple products, whether or not things improve at Foxconn, because, hands down, Apple makes the prettiest, shiniest toys.

Newly-released profits for this past quarter---$13.1 billion from $46.3 billion in sales---show that nothing else compares to their iDevices.

Buying another brand of electronics is not going to change anything, either.

Other major Foxconn clients include Acer, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Nintendo, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Vizio.

Dismal conditions for Chinese workers will continue until all electronics makers, not just Apple, decide to make a change.

Electronic companies, chubby-cheeked and pot-bellied from profits, are not going to be footing the bill anytime soon.

Extra costs for improving worker conditions will trickle down to consumers. Whether or not the allegations about Apple are true, are we as a society going to be willing to pay a little bit more for a touch screen trinket so someone else can have a better life?

* Ashley Miller is a member of the Pilot-Tribune news staff. Reach the columnist at amiller@stormlakepilottribune.com