Responding to a growing outcry over conditions at its overseas factories, Apple said Monday that an outside organization had begun auditing working conditions at the plants where iPhones, iPads and other Apple products are manufactured, and the group would make its finding public.For years, Apple had resisted calls for independent scrutiny of the suppliers that make its electronics. But for the first time it has begun publicly divulging information that it once considered secret, following a drumbeat of criticism — including coordinated protests last week at Apple stores around the world and investigative news reports about punishing conditions inside some factories.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/apple-announces-independent-factory-inspections/