Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), presents itself as a company that protects the environment, as a company that uses biodegradable materials and renewable energies, but its efforts to be "green" are forgotten when it comes to Asian partners. Foxconn and UniMicron, two Taiwanese companies that have factories in Taiwan and are Apple partners, are being investigated by the Chinese government based on accusations of environmental pollution. Both companies would have exceeded the maximum permitted norm for gas emissions into the atmosphere and now the Chinese government is trying to prove this, both Foxconn and UniMicron will receive considerable fines if it turns out that this is true.
Chinese regulators are scrutinizing two suppliers to Apple Inc. and other gadget makers following allegations by environmental groups that plants run by the two companies are pumping large amounts of toxic heavy metals into nearby rivers. The allegations cast a spotlight on this industrial area roughly 40 miles west of Shanghai that has long supplied the global electronics industry. They come as China's leaders and the public is growing increasingly concerned about pollutants in China's soil, air and water.
Apple obliges its partners to comply with the standards regarding the legal emission limit regarding toxic gases and in general few companies comply with them, situations in which Apple tries to intervene to solve the problems. although normally Apple's image should not be affected by these problems, in general this does not happen, Apple being the one criticized by the press.
