Apple has revealed its list of suppliers in a bid to address criticism over the way it treats workers; there have also been moves made to increase the level and frequency of inspections carried out.

Previous criticism was levelled at Apple after employers at its Foxconn supplier committed suicide, this coming at a time when the tech giant kept all of its suppliers under wraps.

In the post, Apple says that: "In 2011, we conducted 229 audits throughout our supply chain - an 80 per cent increase over 2010 - including more than 100 first-time audits. We continue to expand our program to reach deeper into our supply base, and this year we added more detailed and specialised audits that focus on safety and the environment."

It also says it has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to child labour, which is nice, stating that: "In 2011, we broadened our age verification program and saw dramatic improvements in hiring practices by our suppliers."

All very admirable, but it is still a rather miserable state of affairs when it takes bad press coverage for a multi-billion dollar company to up its game in terms of work standards. The company found that five factories had employed under-age workers, and employees at 93 of its factories had exceeded working hours.

However, at least it seems Apple is attempting to improve standards, if only to get the press off its back. It makes you wonder how many other well-known companies working standards would appear under closer scrutiny.