No - this is not a campaign against Apple - it's a campaign to change Apple for the better. When this campaign succeeds you can be proud your Apple purchase is a greener choice. As an Apple customer it's vital that you tell Apple you want them to be a green leader now.
Apple is the trendsetter and innovator for the electronics industry so their current bad policies set a bad example to the whole industry. While other companies have improved Apple has not. Apple is now falling behind. Instead Apple should be setting the trend for a green future. If any company should do this it's Apple.
There are other companies with an even worse record than Apple but these follow rather than lead industry trends.
Market leaders like HP and Dell have risen to the challenge to improve their environmental performance. Over the past 3 years Apple has been asked by Greenpeace and others to remove toxic chemicals and been the focus of a campaign by the Computertakeback group. They have reluctantly made small concessions, but only in the U.S.
Now it's time to ask Apple to go beyond its competitors and set a new green standard in electronics. A standard Apple can be proud of, a standard that will attract new customers and make every Apple product tread a lot lighter on the Earth.
Product lifespan is a very important factor but even long lasting products are thrown away eventually. Apple does not publish any figures for the average lifespan of their products. Only HP officially estimates how long their products last on average and measures its take back figures against this. Apple should follow HP's lead to show how effective their limited take back policy really is.
As long as Apple products contain hazardous chemicals and Apple refuse to take responsibility for them when they become waste, they will end up causing unnecessary pollution.
Unfortunately it seems Al Gore has yet to have any positive influence on Apple's chemicals and take back policy. Just having Al Gore on the board doesn't automatically make Apple's environmental policies better.
No - all the money for this campaign is coming from Greenpeace. Greenpeace is independent because we accept no money from companies or governments.
It will set a new standard in the industry - if Apple can meet these green standards then all companies can follow this example. The market leaders like Dell and HP will have a new standard to meet.
When Apple is greener, Apple will be a leading example of how a company can help tackle the problem. Once other big companies step up to match this new standard it will be a giant step forward to solving the problem of e-waste.
A complete solution requires action from the entire electronics industry to make cleaner, longer lasting products and governments to prevent the dumping of e-waste.
