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Reader question: Please explain this headline, with “fig leaf” in particular: Labor monitor selected by Apple called just a ‘fig leaf’. My comments: The story behind this headline is this. Apple, the American company known for its iPods, iPhones and iPads, have for some time been accused of allowing its contractors to operate sweat shops, in which assembly line workers toil long hours in harsh conditions for little pay. To counter the accusation, Apple decided to look into the matter in order to salvage its otherwise impeccable reputation – after all, the company is known for churning out impeccable products. Well, Apple does not look into the matter directly – nor does it intend to, either, I suppose. Instead, it hired a labor condition monitoring group to look into the matter for it. Which, in turn, leads to further accusations that the labor monitor is just a “fig leaf”. In other words, the Apple move is a PR gimmick. It’s more a cover up than disclosure. This, from the New York Times (Critics Question Record of Monitor Selected by Apple, February 13, 2017): Apple’s announcement on Monday that an outside monitoring group, the Fair Labor Association, has begun inspecting its suppliers’ factories in China rekindled a debate over how effective the group has been in eliminating labor abuses. The association was founded in 1999, by universities and nonprofit groups, along with Nike, Liz Claiborne and several other American apparel companies that said they were eager to eliminate workplace abuses; at that time, anti-sweatshop groups were pummeling American apparel companies for abuses in overseas factories they used. | 
