I have read and heard stories of peril that stem from the dark underbelly of tech manufacturing across the global and like most Americans, have turned a blind eye to it all. That is until the name of one Chinese company kept popping up in the headlines, Foxconn. On January 25, 2012, The New York Times posted a lengthy article with insider looks into the supply channel of Apple, Inc. After reading the article, I was shocked and angry. Shortly afterwards, I read a CNET piece that tried to rationalize the entire matter in Apple’s favor and I then completely lost it. Are we really in the age when a product requires human costs?

Is my iPod worth an arm? Is my HTC EVO 4G worth dozens of workers irreplaceable time and low cost sweat? Is the manufacturing of your next tech device worth more than a human life? Apple’s CEO Tim Cook and CNET believe Apple is being singled out from other companies like Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Sony to name a few. Unlike those companies, Apple is enjoying record profits and is close to becoming the wealthiest company in the world (again).

In The New York Times article, former Apple executives give candid accounts of a company ignoring repeat offenders of their Supplier Code of Conduct because it will slow innovation and leaves consumers without a new product every year. Have we really come to a point in consumerism when we need to sacrifice human lives or at the very least the quality of life for workers? I really hope not.

Companies like Apple share the blame for human tragedies like the ones in the NYT piece with another group of people. You and me, the consumer. We demand the latest technology at low prices and think nothing of how these companies deliver these products at those prices. If you discovered that the device you are enjoying cost another human being a leg and possibly years of mental and physical trauma, you would stop buying from the device maker. The question is for how long?

A few days after the NYT article, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook responded to the report in an e-mail to employees. Normally quite the secretive company, the e-mail got out and was obtained by 9to5Mac. Here’s a piece of the opening of that e-mail.

As a company and as individuals, we are defined by our values. Unfortunately some people are questioning Apple’s values today, and I’d like to address this with you directly. We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It’s not who we are.

Most people would take that as sincerity and place their trust that Apple will fix the labor problems. Although, these problems aren’t recent or new, they are common. The core problem is that capitalism and consumerism are strong forces. Do I truly believe Apple wishes harm to anyone in their supply chain? No, but I do believe the “bottom line” will continue to produce incidents like the ones described in the NYT article.

I’m going to leave you with this one last question. If Foxconn was an American company with American employees and these events took place on American soil, would the media or anyone else try to rationalize such behavior? Or would we demand that Apple cut ties or risk losing us as customers?