Are we morally responsible for the making of what we purchase?

[Coveny]

So I came across this video of children mining cobalt in Congolese and it got me thinking about the whole battery debate.





On one side they say we are responsible for the way children are being treated in this video because we purchased the phone, so we are providing the incentive to make children work, and putting children in these terrible conditions, with terrible futures.
 
On the other side though how can we be expected to know every piece in the supply chain? Is it our fault that the country wants to use child labor in mining conditions to turn a profit? Isn’t that the same thing we did here in the U.S. not so long ago? Proponents say it’s the lesser of two evils: “It is common for homeless children or those without parents or adult supervision to be pushed into the sex trade or towards other criminal activities in order to earn money to survive. In this context, working in sweatshops is a far better solution.”
 
https://www.triplepundit.com/2010/12/gas...ing-world/
 
So who’s morally responsible for them working the mines, or do you believe it’s a lesser evil and we are helping not hurting?

[Alexmahone]

I think so. Going to KFC is as bad as slaughtering a chicken yourself.

[Minimalist]

They don't seem to have a lot of other options.  I don't consider starving a viable option.

[Sal]

You can choose to buy from fair trade, when it comes to smart phones, yes?

[vorlon13]

I've suggested tariffs be used to discourage imports from countries with less stringent environmental protections for their manufacturing operations than ours.

[rskovride]

Sure, we create the demand for these raw materials but its the policies of Congo that allow those specific conditions. The US has the Fair Labor Standards Act and agencies like OSHA to prevent such things.