AC

The upcoming release of the labor audit for one of Apple's largest suppliers is the latest sign of the pressure U.S. companies are under to improve conditions in overseas factories. Apple says the audit report will be released in the next "couple of weeks" in partnership with the Washington, D.C.-based Fair Labor Association. It will disclose any labor and wage violations and lay out steps to address working conditions and other issues at Foxconn Technology, whose Chinese factories make the iconic iPad. Other major Apple suppliers will also be audited in coming months by FLA. Separately, Apple is working with the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council to conduct independent environmental reviews of at least two suppliers' factories in China, the environmental groups say. No technology firms have announced similar third-party reviews. Yet analysts say Apple's initiatives are accelerating a trend in the...