this is tricky. Most of those workers don't have better options. Work in conditions that are illegal, or for much less pay elsewhere, and probably still illegal. Safety standards are not as high, but they get better as the companies learn from us. (Even at the least flattering look, cleaning up body parts and training a replacement takes time. Most people are better than that )
But I still avoid slave labor. The workers need to be free to leave for a better option if there is one.
I guess my point about looking around my living room was that I wouldn't know where to begin if I wanted to avoid slave labor.
I mean, I think it's safe to assume that Apple isn't the Big Bad here in terms of overseas labor practices: It seems highly likely that a very large % of technological devices around me involved either 1) child labor 2) some form of forced labor 3) unsafe labor conditions 4) starvation wages 5) 14 hour workdays 7 days a week
It goes far beyond electronics too: I just grabbed one of my kid's favorite little plush puppy: made in China. It seems reasonable to doubt the quality of the work conditions in the factory it came from, but I just don't know.
I think about something like "Organic Food" and there are at least labelling requirements for things like that. People do, with some effort, manage to eat completely organic, even if there are some problems with labelling consistency.
There's nothing equivalent for "no kid/slave labor/fair wages" etc. You could buy only things made in the US, or other countries with fair labor practices, but the supply chains for components & materials to build those things are will be opaque & frequently have roots into the labor practices you want to avoid.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try to avoid products like that: If possible for a given product? Sure, go for it. But otherwise I'm saying that is seems like a virtually impossible task to accomplish
I used to think this way, but I have since realized that it is a trap. Modern American business benefits from cheap foreign labor. This is almost exclusively labor done in conditions that no American worker would accept, for pay that would be illegally low. The transitional argument in favor of this arrangement is dishonest. It ignores the fact that many of our suppliers countries controlling entities are benefiting hugely from this exploitative arrangement, and are therefore unwilling to move towards a more just society.
But I still avoid slave labor. The workers need to be free to leave for a better option if there is one.