What Would a Fair-Labor iPod Cost? - Umair Haque - HarvardBusiness.org

Is a 23% price difference between a "Good" and "Evil iPod" worth it — to Apple, society, communities, and our economy? Would Apple's business suffer from charging people $58 more for an iPod? Can we afford to pay 23% for goods made according to higher labour standards? I think the real question is: how long can we afford not to? The less we invest in one another, the worse off we all are eventually. The higher standards we set for ourselves, the more potential value we can create. The American manufacturing sector has been eviscerated by an insistence on near-term cost-cutting — and today, our lack of standards and manufacturing competence has led to a dearth of innovation exactly when we need it most.

via What Would a Fair-Labor iPod Cost? – Umair Haque – HarvardBusiness.org.