"Foxconn Electronics, a factory located in China that supplies $20.7 billion worth of products annually to Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Sony, and other top name brands, has come under criticism for alleged labor violations. According to British newspaper The Mail, labor rights violations at Foxconn Electronics include the following:

Wages below the legal minimum, with workers reportedly earning $50 a month

Routine work shifts of 15 hours

Poor and unsafe working conditions

Inadequate dormitories

China Labor Bulletin research director Robin Munro stated, "They're not sharing proportionally in the benefits and profits in this huge globalization effort…. The only reason they can survive in these cities is because all they do is work." Foxconn states that there are huge discrepancies between the truth and allegations cited in the report."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"On the 2005 Computer Report Card, published jointly by the Computer TakeBack Campaign and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Hewlett-Packard(HP) received the high score of 35 for their policies regarding electronics take back, disposal procedures and the materials used in their computers."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"Basel Action Network’s (BAN) report entitled “The Digital Dump: Exporting Re-use and Abuse to Africa,” examines the current downside to the information technology growth in the industrialized world, focusing on the environmental ramifications in Lagos, Nigeria. The study demonstrates how Nigeria, representative of developing nations, has disproportionately carried the burden of toxic cyber waste. The formal and informal dumps have leached dangerous toxins, such as dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals, into the air and groundwater. HP products were among those found “washed up” on the West African import market."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"In “Toxic Chemicals in Computers Exposed,” Greenpeace International reported results of their study on hazardous substances in laptop computers produced by Acer, Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Sony. In conjunction with the Eurofins Environmental A/S in Galten, Denmark, Greenpeace tested for chemicals such as lead, chromium, and bromine. HP and Apple laptops contained the highest levels of toxic contamination. HP laptops were the only models tested in which lead was identified. The study found PBDEs, which are a class of brominated fire retardants (BFRs), present in HP’s Pavilion dv4000 Series, though the company claimed to have removed the chemical from its product years ago. Long-term exposure to BFRs has been linked to abnormal brain development, interference with thyroid and estrogen hormone systems, as well as the nervous system."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"Hewlett-Packard has not managed to maintain its position in Greenpeace International’s “Guide to Greener Electronics.” The Washington, DC-based nonprofit releases a quarterly ranking of 14 of the leading consumer and mobile technology companies based on criteria relating to recycling, phase out of toxic chemicals and corporate responsibility issues. Although HP was once ranked toward the middle of the pack, they have failed to keep up with other computer companies and are now, according to Greenpeace, in “free fall.”"

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"Hewlett-Packard has not managed to maintain its position in Greenpeace International’s “Guide to Greener Electronics.” The Washington, DC-based nonprofit releases a quarterly ranking of 14 of the leading consumer and mobile technology companies based on criteria relating to recycling, phase out of toxic chemicals and corporate responsibility issues. Although HP was once ranked toward the middle of the pack, they have failed to keep up with other computer companies and are now, according to Greenpeace, in “free fall.”"

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"In early 2001 a retired Hewlett-Packard employee sued the company claiming it reneged on its promise to provide its retired employees with lifetime discounts on HP products. The suit represents 3,800 Hewlett-Packard retirees who were transferred to the company's Agilent spin-off in 1999. The rebate plan provided 10% discounts to employees who had worked at the company 15 years or more and who were 55 years old when they retired. Hewlett-Packard responded by stating the Employee Purchase Rebate Program was not a qualified retirement plan and therefore is subject to change. HP eventually settled the lawsuit by agreeing to reinstate the rebate discount and create a $150,000 fund to reimburse discounts on already purchased products."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"In early 2001 a retired Hewlett-Packard employee sued the company claiming it reneged on its promise to provide its retired employees with lifetime discounts on HP products. The suit represents 3,800 Hewlett-Packard retirees who were transferred to the company's Agilent spin-off in 1999. The rebate plan provided 10% discounts to employees who had worked at the company 15 years or more and who were 55 years old when they retired. Hewlett-Packard responded by stating the Employee Purchase Rebate Program was not a qualified retirement plan and therefore is subject to change. HP eventually settled the lawsuit by agreeing to reinstate the rebate discount and create a $150,000 fund to reimburse discounts on already purchased products."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"Lawyers representing thousands of apartheid victims at an appeal hearing in New York will revive 2002 compensation claims against foreign multinationals they accuse of aiding and abetting apartheid violence. Implicated corporations include BP, Barclays, Hewlett-Packard, Credit Suisse, Coca-Cola, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and Shell Oil. The plaintiffs and some 29 civil society groups and individuals allege that companies that supported the apartheid state violated the Sullivan code and US's constructive engagement policy designed to fight discrimination. Violations involved such activities as providing the regime with armoured vehicles for patroling townships, and creating the pass book which non-whites were required to carry to authorize their passage in otherwise white areas."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"Lawyers representing thousands of apartheid victims at an appeal hearing in New York will revive 2002 compensation claims against foreign multinationals they accuse of aiding and abetting apartheid violence. Implicated corporations include BP, Barclays, Hewlett-Packard, Credit Suisse, Coca-Cola, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and Shell Oil. The plaintiffs and some 29 civil society groups and individuals allege that companies that supported the apartheid state violated the Sullivan code and US's constructive engagement policy designed to fight discrimination. Violations involved such activities as providing the regime with armoured vehicles for patroling townships, and creating the pass book which non-whites were required to carry to authorize their passage in otherwise white areas."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"In 2006, CEO Mark V. Hurd made $24,031,487 in total compensation, including stock option grants from Hewlett-Packard."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239

"Hewlett-Packard’s key staff members testified before a congressional committee about the company’s data privacy scandal. The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations charged HP with spying on staff and journalists. HP obtained staff and journalists’ phone records, along with other data, in an attempt to discover which employee had leaked “confidential” reports to the press. The scandal brought a wave of resignations, including Patricia Dunn, HP chairman, and Ann Baskins, HP general counsel. HP’s key lawyer quit her post hours before the hearing.

September 28, 2006, Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit against 20 individuals who allegedly obtained the telephone records for Hewlett-Packard. The lawsuit states that these individuals used “fraud, trickery, and deceit” to access call records from Verizon customer service centers. According to prosecutors, such practices violate laws concerning identity theft and unauthorized access to computer data."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=239