Amazon Finally Reveals Who Makes Its Branded Products
Until now, there’s been no easy way to track where AmazonBasics really come from
Amazon has revealed the companies that make its branded products for the first time. The e-commerce giant published a list of suppliers on its website earlier this month that details the names and locations of manufacturers all over the world that produce official Amazon apparel, consumer electronics, and housewares.
The 51-page list is notable given that, like other major retailers, Amazon has previously concealed its supply chain from the public and its competitors, which made the human and environmental impact of its business difficult to comprehend. It also confirms OneZero’s report on the lifecycle of AmazonBasics’ AA alkaline battery, a popular in-house item produced by the Japanese-owned battery company FDK in West Java, Indonesia.
Hundreds of Amazon suppliers named in the document are located in China and India — places where inhumane working conditions at some factories and lax labor laws can drive down the cost of operations. At the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China, for example, Amazon Echo and Kindle products were made using illegal child labor, reported the Guardian.
