Supply Chain Innovation

People come first.

A uniformed employee works in a green-lit component manufacturing facility A uniformed employee works in a green-lit component manufacturing facility

Apple products are designed in California and built by people all over the world. We strive to uphold our high standards everywhere we operate, supporting the people and communities across our supply chain and working to protect the planet we all share.

Highlights

Innovation. Everywhere.

Our supply chain includes thousands of supplier facilities in over 60 countries. Suppliers support every stage of the Apple product life cycle, and we apply our strict requirements globally to move our partners, ourselves and the industry forward.

  • Design and Source. We design our products using more recycled and renewable materials. All materials sourced by our suppliers, whether recycled or not, must come from sources that meet our strict standards.

  • Make. Suppliers help us build parts that are combined to create critical components, such as displays, batteries and chips. These components are assembled to become Apple products.

  • Package and Ship. Through our suppliers, we’re able to deliver finished Apple products all over the world, including to our retail stores and directly to our customers.

  • Use. Our suppliers help provide Apple services like Apple One and AppleCare, from technical infrastructure to customer support.

  • Recover. With support from recycling suppliers, we recover products and create novel solutions to help maximise recovery of priority materials. We also share what we learn with the industry to help drive progress.

People

High standards at every step.

How we drive progress through the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct.

An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly

People

An employee in full-coverage work suit and eyewear observes Apple Watch assembly An employee in full-coverage work suit and eyewear observes Apple Watch assembly

Apple Watch assembly, China mainland

Everyone deserves to work in a safe and healthy environment where they’re treated with dignity and respect. For 20 years, the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct has set our standards in areas including labour and human rights, health and safety, the environment, responsible materials sourcing, rights-holder engagement and business conduct.

In 2025, we updated the Code of Conduct, opens in a new tab, incorporating feedback from experts, suppliers and Apple teams. This feedback helped create our strongest standards yet, designed to lead the industry and to adapt to Apple’s continually evolving products and services.

We hold our suppliers accountable. Assessments, conducted by third-party auditors, thoroughly examine the details of a supplier’s operations and compliance with our standards. Auditors interview supplier management and employees, conduct detailed site walkthroughs, and perform comprehensive reviews of documentation, all designed to assess that our standards are being met — and to look for opportunities for improvement. In addition to planned assessments, we also conduct unannounced visits, where the supplier has no advance knowledge of the auditor’s arrival.

How we hold suppliers accountable.

Learn more about our approach to due diligence and accountability
View PDF
  • 2.4M+

    supplier employees trained on their workplace rights in 2025

  • 895

    assessments of supplier facilities conducted in 2025, with more than 20% being unannounced visits

More about People in Apple’s Supply Chain

  • An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine

    People

    Safety from the start.

    Semiconductor manufacturing, France

  • Two employees in work smocks and safety hats stand in front of an assembly machine Two employees in work smocks and safety hats stand in front of an assembly machine

    People

    The Supplier Employee Development Fund.

    Robotics training, India

  • An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a work station An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a work station

    People

    Hire right.

    iPhone assembly, China mainland

Safety from the start.

Health and safety are top priorities.

Semiconductor manufacturing, France

An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine

People

An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a manufacturing machine An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a manufacturing machine

Semiconductor manufacturing, France

Everyone has the right to be safe at work. Safeguarding people and the environment starts with setting high standards and creating a culture of accountability.

We work to evaluate the machines, manufacturing processes and chemicals our suppliers use to make our products in order to safeguard the health and safety of the people in our supply chain and the environment where they operate. Our suppliers are required to conduct regular inspections of their facilities, machines and the chemicals used to verify that our industry-leading safety standards are met, and we evaluate their compliance through regular rigorous assessments.

We partner with our suppliers to build workplace cultures that put health and safety first, every day. We offer training resources to support continual improvement of safety practices, and require suppliers to provide health and safety training to their employees. Suppliers also create channels for teams to suggest ways that the workplace could be even safer. By empowering people to speak up and share insights from their experience, we are helping suppliers create workplaces where safety is the top priority — and everyone’s job.

  • 900+

    supplier sites participated in safety training since 2022

  • 200+

    safer cleaners required for use at final assembly facilities

More about People in Apple’s Supply Chain

  • An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a work station An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a work station

    People

    Hire right.

    iPhone assembly, China mainland

  • Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning

    People

    Listen and learn.

    Education programmes, Vietnam

  • An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly

    People

    High standards at every step.

    Apple Watch assembly, China mainland

The Supplier Employee Development Fund.

A world of learning.

Robotics training, India

Watch the film
Two employees in work smocks and safety hats stand in front of a assembly machine Two employees in work smocks and safety hats stand in front of a assembly machine

People

Two employees in work smocks and hats stand at their workstations operating assembly machines Two employees in work smocks and hats stand at their workstations operating assembly machines

Robotics training, India

Education moves everyone forward. The Apple Supplier Employee Development Fund is our $50 million commitment to further invest in the people in our supply chain — and to innovate and expand on our long-running education programmes.

Since launching in 2022, the Fund, along with leading partner organisations, has provided opportunities for millions of people all over the world to learn, grow and explore opportunities to advance in their jobs — or embark on a new career journey.

The Fund’s Apple Education Hub, with physical locations now in the United States, China mainland, India and Vietnam, delivers hands-on and virtual learning opportunities designed to equip people with in-demand technical skills like Swift coding, smart manufacturing fundamentals and robotics training.

The Fund also delivers programming to help people thrive personally. World-class workplace rights training empowers people with awareness and ways to speak up if their rights are not being protected. And health education provides tailored learning on critical topics like mental well-being, reproductive health, and disease prevention and early detection.

We’re also helping suppliers create more inclusive workplaces through our Vocational Education for Persons with Disabilities programme. The programme equips persons with disabilities with the skills to succeed in manufacturing environments, while at the same time helping our suppliers make their workplaces more welcoming and supportive for everyone. Participating suppliers are modifying their facilities where necessary, and they are training their teams to support their new coworkers through opportunities such as sign language classes.

As we enter the Fund’s fifth year, we remain committed to creating a world of learning for people across our global supply chain.

  • 9M+

    education and training sessions delivered as part of the Supplier Employee Development Fund since launching in 2022

  • 48K+

    participants across more than 70 supplier facilities in the Vocational Education for Persons with Disabilities programme since its launch in 2022

  • 108K+

    supplier employees who have graduated from our Swift coding programme since 2017

  • 8M+

    people reached by our health and wellness programmes since 2017

More about People in Apple’s Supply Chain

  • An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a work station An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a work station

    People

    Hire right.

    iPhone assembly, China mainland

  • Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning

    People

    Listen and learn.

    Education programmes, Vietnam

  • An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly

    People

    High standards at every step.

    Apple Watch assembly, China mainland

Hire right.

Fair job recruitment begins with strict standards.

iPhone assembly, China mainland

An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a workstation An employee in full-coverage work suit inspects an iPhone at a workstation

People

An employee in full-body work suit inspects an iPhone at a workstation An employee in full-body work suit inspects an iPhone at a workstation

iPhone assembly, China mainland

We require that suppliers’ job recruitment processes be free and fair, prohibiting practices such as charging fees to secure a job — even where it’s allowed by law. We’ve partnered with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, to create easy-to-use tools that help suppliers recruit people ethically and with respect for their human rights.

Apple does not tolerate forced labour. Our work to uphold strong hiring standards extends throughout a worker’s employment journey. Our policies apply globally, regardless of a person’s job, location or how they were hired. We look for evidence of forced labour in every supplier assessment we conduct, and we continue to drive leading practices across the industry.

Learn more about our efforts to prevent forced labour
View PDF
  • 0

    instances found where people were forced to work in our supply chain in 2025

  • 1.7M+

    supplier employees covered by training on industry-leading hiring standards since 2019

More about People in Apple’s Supply Chain

  • Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning

    People

    Listen and learn.

    Education programmes, Vietnam

  • An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly

    People

    High standards at every step.

    Apple Watch assembly, China mainland

  • An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine

    People

    Safety from the start.

    Semiconductor manufacturing, France

Listen and learn.

Workplaces shaped by the people who know them best.

Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning

People

Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning Employees in classroom setting collaborate or share learning

Education programmes, Vietnam

Feedback is critical for continuous improvement. Suppliers are required to provide training on workplace rights, and we encourage everyone across our supply chain to share feedback directly with Apple. We interview and survey hundreds of thousands of supplier employees each year, and provide hotlines, as well as a feedback form on this website, so people can anonymously raise concerns. We use this feedback to support our suppliers in continuously improving their workplaces to provide the best possible experience for their employees.

Apple does not tolerate retaliation, and any supplier that retaliates against their employees for raising a concern faces immediate consequences, up to and including termination of their business with Apple. We require our suppliers to promptly address any issues that arise, and we regularly check on their progress until we confirm that all necessary actions have been taken.

If suppliers are unwilling or unable to meet our standards, they risk removal from our supply chain. Since 2009, we have removed 25 manufacturing supplier facilities and 232 smelters and refiners* from our supply chain for failing to meet our standards.

  • 655K+

    supplier employees directly engaged by Apple about their workplace experiences in 2025

  • 6.9K+

    improvements made to supplier workplaces in 2025 based on feedback from their employees, in areas like employee services, facilities and onboarding

  • 42K+

    supplier employees contacted after interviews to ensure that they didn’t experience retaliation

More about People in Apple’s Supply Chain

  • An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly An employee in full-coverage work suit and eye wear observes Apple Watch assembly

    People

    High standards at every step.

    Apple Watch assembly, China mainland

  • An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine An employee in full-body work suit peers into a window of a semiconductor machine

    People

    Safety from the start.

    Semiconductor manufacturing, France

  • Two employees in work smocks and safety hats stand in front of an assembly machine Two employees in work smocks and safety hats stand in front of an assembly machine

    People

    The Supplier Employee Development Fund.

    Robotics training, India

Environment

Read our 2026 reports to learn more about our dedication to people and the planet.

View our reporting
A worker wearing safety glasses inspects a glass component in an assembly facility A worker wearing safety glasses inspects a glass component in an assembly facility
Glass manufacturing, United States

More from Apple on our global supply chain.

Your feedback makes a difference.

Feedback makes our global supply chain better. We welcome your thoughts, questions and ideas.

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