Apple
Partly verified✓ Checks its own supply chain. Apple actively looks for problems such as child or forced labour, publishes what it finds and works to fix it. That openness is uncommon, so problems it finds and reports itself are shown below but don't count against its grade.
Apple raises serious concerns: there are reports of forced or child labour in its supply chain. Apple's 2025 supplier assessments found core violations at three facilities, including two workers a few months under the legal working age of 16 and two cases of falsified working-hour records (Apple Supply Chain Progress Report, 2026).
Last researched 7 October 2026
Not doing enough. Workers in the supply chain are likely underpaid, unprotected or in danger, and in the worst cases face forced or child labour. Look for a better-graded alternative. What this grade means
Good: 2 of 5
- Pays a living wage
- Respects worker rights
- Full supply chain audit, or made only in countries with rigorous labour standards
- No child or forced labour findings
- Publishes where its products are made (supplier list, named farms or its own factories)
Great: 1 of 3
- Pays beyond a living wage
- Finds and fixes problems, or invests directly in workers' communities
- Actively empowers workers
Needs all Good requirements plus two of these.
Red flags: 1
- Instances of forced, slave or child labour
Where it's made
| Country | Worker rights | Legal wages | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China 70% | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| India 20% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | High |
| Vietnam 10% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Country conditions from the ITUC Global Rights Index, Global Slavery Index and living wage benchmarks. Certifications and audits can raise a company above its countries' baseline.
Why this grade
- Cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold mining carry child and forced labour risk (DR Congo, Indonesia), and assembly overtime is widespread. (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing)
- Responsible Business Alliance: Electronics industry code with third-party audits. Members set their own pace.
- Conflict-free minerals programme: Responsible sourcing for tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold or cobalt.
- Publishes supplier list
- Modern slavery statement
- Uses recycled metals or fibres
- Uses high-risk raw materials (e.g. leather tanning, mica, artisanal gold)
- Independent social audits of all its main factories
- Reports child labour cases found and fixed
Apple publishes a supplier list, audits hundreds of suppliers a year and requires all its tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold, cobalt and lithium smelters to pass third-party audits. Since 2025 all Apple-designed batteries use 100% recycled cobalt and its circuit boards use recycled gold plating and tin solder, but gold elsewhere in its products is not fully recycled and it does not report mica sourcing at the same level. It makes no living wage commitment and scores low on purchasing practices and support for trade unions in the 2025 KnowTheChain benchmark.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| KnowTheChain | Found | Scored 46/100 and ranked 5th of 45 companies in the 2025 KnowTheChain ICT benchmark, with low scores on purchasing practices, worker rights and remedy. View ↗ |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Found | Scored 31.6/100 in the 2022 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. View ↗ |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Found | Apple Pty Limited lodged a 2025 modern slavery statement covering July 2024 to June 2025. View ↗ |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Found | Publishes a UK Modern Slavery Act statement for its UK subsidiaries. View ↗ |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Found | Materials and products Apple uses appear on the US DOL list: cobalt from the DRC, mica from India and electronics from China and Malaysia. View ↗ |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Neither Apple nor its major named suppliers appear on the UFLPA Entity List. View ↗ |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Found | Tracks allegations including DR Congo's conflict-minerals complaints, which Paris prosecutors dismissed in 2025. View ↗ |
Confirmed issues
Problems confirmed by a court, regulator, completed investigation or the company itself. Issues more than 15 years old, or 10–15 years old where the company made amends, are removed. Problems a company finds and publishes itself, and is fixing, are shown but don't count against it.
| When | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Apple's own supply chain reporting shows suppliers or labour agencies charged recruitment fees to more than 37,700 workers, with US$34.5 million repaid since 2008 (Apple Supply Chain Progress Report, 2026). Found and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade, because the company found and published it itself. | Yes US$34.5 million in recruitment fees repaid to workers since 2008. |
| 2025 | Apple's 2025 supplier assessments found core violations at three facilities, including two workers a few months under the legal working age of 16 and two cases of falsified working-hour records (Apple Supply Chain Progress Report, 2026). | Not known |
| 2022 | Apple and Foxconn acknowledged hiring lapses in 2022 at Foxconn's iPhone plant near Chennai, India, after a Reuters investigation found married women were being excluded from assembly jobs (Reuters, 2024). | Not known |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- China Labor Watch reported that at Foxconn's Zhengzhou iPhone 17 plant over half the workforce were dispatch workers, most worked 60 to 75 hours a week, and workers who resigned early lost overtime pay (China Labor Watch, 2025). Source ↗
- Reuters reported that Foxconn continued to exclude married women from iPhone assembly jobs in India in 2023 and 2024; Foxconn denies discrimination (Reuters, 2024). Source ↗
- The Tech Transparency Project linked Apple touchscreen supplier Lens Technology to state-run transfers of Uyghur workers from Xinjiang, the fifth Apple supplier linked to the programme; Apple says Lens received no such transfers (Tech Transparency Project, 2021). Source ↗
- The DR Congo government filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium alleging Apple's supply chain uses minerals from conflict zones; Paris prosecutors dropped the French case in 2025 while the Belgian investigation continues, and Apple denies the claims (Heise, 2025). Source ↗
- International Rights Advocates sued Apple in Washington DC alleging its cobalt, tin, tantalum and tungsten are linked to child and forced labour in Congo; Apple calls the claims baseless (Engineering News, 2025). Source ↗
Sources (12)
- Apple Supply Chain 2026 Progress Report · archived copy · US$34.5M recruitment fees repaid to 37,700+ workers since 2008; 895 assessments in 2025; 3 facilities with core violations (underage workers, falsified hours); 100% of 3TG, cobalt and lithium smelters
- Apple accelerates progress with highest-ever recycled material in its products (Apple Newsroom AU, April 2026) · archived copy · All Apple-designed batteries use 100% recycled cobalt; Apple-designed circuit boards use 100% recycled gold plating and tin solder; 30% of material shipped in 2025 was recycled
- Apple surpasses 60 percent reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions (Apple Newsroom, April 2025) · archived copy · 99% recycled cobalt in Apple-designed batteries in 2024; recycled claims certified to ISO 14021 standards, cobalt via mass balance
- Apple now makes 25% of iPhones in India (ChannelNews, March 2026) · archived copy · About 25% of iPhones assembled in India in 2025 by Foxconn, Tata and Pegatron
- KnowTheChain 2025 ICT Benchmark scorecard: Apple · archived copy · Scored 46/100, ranked 5th of 45; weak on purchasing practices, freedom of association and remedy
- Apple CHRB scorecard 2022 · archived copy · Scored 31.6/100 in the 2022 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark
- Cultural issues exclude married women from iPhone jobs in India, probe finds (BusinessDay/Reuters, July 2024) · archived copy · Apple and Foxconn acknowledged hiring lapses in 2022; Reuters found exclusion of married women in 2023-2024; Foxconn denies
- China Labor Watch raises concerns over Foxconn iPhone 17 factory (2025) · archived copy · Dispatch worker share, 60-75 hour weeks, forfeited overtime pay at Foxconn Zhengzhou
- Another Apple supplier linked to forced labor (Tech Transparency Project, 2021) · archived copy · Lens Technology linked to Uyghur labour transfers; Apple denies
- Is Apple buying conflict minerals? French prosecutor not investigating (Heise, 2025) · archived copy · Paris prosecutor dropped DRC complaint; Belgian investigation ongoing; Apple denies and halted DRC/Rwanda sourcing in 2024
- US group sues Apple over Congo conflict minerals (Engineering News, November 2025) · archived copy · IRAdvocates lawsuit in DC Superior Court; Apple calls claims baseless
- Apple 2025 Australian Modern Slavery Statement · archived copy · Apple Pty Limited statement for FY July 2024 to June 2025 on the Australian register
Last researched 7 October 2026 · details still being verified. Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Represent this company and think something is wrong? A right-of-reply form is coming soon.