So after a week-long brouhaha Apple Inc has decided to permit the release of a new iPhone application called iSinglePayer.

The application enables users to see which US legislators have received political contributions from which limb of the anti-healthcare-reform lobby, and then to phone up the representative at the touch of a button. The application's data is supplied by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The link between industry money and political process has never been more transparent.

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French cosmetics giant L'Oreal was found guilty yesterday of racial discrimination for seeking an all-white sales force to promote its shampoos.

The French appelate court held that L'Oreal had tried to stop black, Asian and Arab women from selling its Fructis shampoo in French supermarkets.

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From kitchen utensils to reclining chairs, a Scripps Howard News Service investigation has identified thousands of contaminated consumer products.

The actual quantity of products affected is unknown due to what the news service terms "haphazard screening, an absence of oversight and substantial disincentives for businesses to report contamination".

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Although Nike's approach to sustainable shoes is justified by lower costs, it holds lessons for marketers justifying going green because "green sells".

The company's earlier move into sustainable shoes was a flop. Consumers of their products were not interested in sustainability; they wanted cool.

Now the company uses bits of old shoes in the soles of new ones, but doesn't tell anybody. Although, given I am writing this piece, presumably they are hoping the word leaks out to those that care.

It should not be regarded as encouraging for those in business who think we can consume our way out of environmental crisis by promoting expressly "green" products.

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In a bizarre move, British pharmaceuticals and beauty products group Alliance Boots has withdrawn from the Ethical Trading Initiative.

The ETI is a retail industry-recognized commitment to ethical trading standards designed to ban suppliers from using child or forced labour.

There is no press release on the Boots website explaining the move. The company's 2007 corporate social responsibility report made it clear that the company was working to expand its supplier reviews in accordance with ETI standards. The report that came out a year later did not mention the ETI at all.

Boots, previously a FTSE 100 company, was bought by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in April 2007. Union groups and campaigners are suggesting that the withdrawal from the ETI commitment has been driven by its new owners, a suggestion that Boots has apparently denied. Earlier this month KKR posted a $1.19bn (£722m) loss for 2008.

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I've talked (ranted?) about this subject before: the modeling industry's exploitation, and occasional destruction, of 14-year-old girls.  A new documentary by model-turned-Cornell student Sara Ziff, shot over a five-year period, looks like it will give audiences a girl's-eye view of the industry.  Their view is not necessarily pretty. 

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Mattel Inc. and its subsidiary Fisher-Price will pay a $2.3 million dollar fine for knowingly violating a 30-year-old regulation prohibiting lead in children's toys, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.  This fine is a civil settlement, and the companies are paying the fine while admitting no wrongdoing. 

From RTTNews: "The civil penalty settles allegations that Mattel imported up to 900 thousands non-compliant toys between September 2006 and August 2007, including the "Sarge" toy car and numerous Barbie accessory toys, and sold them to U.S. consumers. The "Sarge" car was recalled in August 2007 and the Barbie toys were recalled in September 2007.

Fisher-Price imported up to 1.1 million non-compliant toys between July 2006 and August 2007, including certain licensed character toys and the Bongo Band, GEOTRAX locomotive, and Go Diego Go Rescue Boat toys. Most of these toys were distributed to retail stores for sale to consumers. The were recalled between August and October 2007."

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   A nice little article reminding consumers to stay calm and listen to their physicians, not the advertisements they see promoting medical procedures and medications. The author uses achilles tendon tears and the pretty straightforward way they are diagnosed and treated to illustrate the point that consumers sometimes demand unnecessary treatments and doctors often relent to their patient's demands even thought the procedure is not indicated.

   I love reading medical-related articles written by physicians who can articulate issues for us lay people and give common sense advice. In this case, consumer beware; just because the commercial is pretty and convincing does not mean you need that particular thing. Educate yourself, talk with your doctor or pharmacist and consult your common sense.

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Good news from Dell: worldwide, 26% of their power comes from renewable sources, a 20% improvement over last year, including 9 facilities that are 100% powered by renewables. 

From Greenbiz: 'The firm's use of renewables is part of a larger initiative to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of its facilities by 40 percent by 2015.

Dell's three-pronged strategy to drive down emissions involves energy efficiency in business operations, use of renewables where possible and purchase of third-party verified renewable energy credits to offset the company's remaining carbon impact."

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A great profile from the Womens Feature Service about Kalpona Akter, the head of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS).

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