The high-impact world of our hi-tech gadgets!
Electronic devices have become such an integral part of our daily lives that it’s hard to remember how we ever lived without internet, flat screens, and smartphones. We rely on them for daily communication, entertainment and work. Our gadgets make life easier, yet we don’t see the huge cost hidden behind this technology. more
The Shop Ethical! guide to Electronics, together with the Electronics Companion will help you unpack the story behind your devices and take steps to act responsibly in the light of the issues. You can make informed purchasing choices, and, as users of particular brands, encourage companies to make positive change in the areas you care about.
The companies behind the brands
See PROFILES for popular brands COMPARE BRANDS- Computing
- Home entertainment
- Mobile devices
- Electronic Manufacturing ServicesThe issues that affect our world
Key Resources
- Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics report, 19th Edition, October 2017, provides an analysis of what 17 of the world’s leading consumer electronics companies are doing to address their environmental impacts focusing on energy use, resource consumption, and chemical elimination.
- Behind the Barcode Electronics Industry Trends report, 2nmd edition, 2016, grades 100 electronics brands on what they are doing to reduce the risk of exploitation and forced labour in their supply chains (Australian focus).
- Discover the best and worst products for repair in the Greenpeace 2017 Repair-IT product scorecard . Give feedback to Apple, Samsung and LG on their short-lived design, non-durable materials, and lack of repair manuals and spare parts.
- The Clicking Clean 2017 report by Greenpeace compares IT companies on their commitments and actions on powering their data centres from renewable energy.
- The Amnesty International and Afrewatch report, ‘This is what we die for: Human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo power the global trade in cobalt‘, January 2016, traces the sale of cobalt, used in lithium-ion batteries, from mines where children as young as seven and adults work in perilous conditions. See article.
- Greener Gadgets: Designing the future, Greenpeace report, September 2014, giving a comprehensive snapshot of the challenges for and progress achieved by the electronics industry.
- Rank-a-brand 2014 Sustainable Electronics report – provides an analysis of the transparency and sustainability performance of the top 20 global electronics brands.
- Mileudefensie and Friend of the Earth report, December 2013, assessing and rating major electronics companies based on their transparency and support for sustainable tin mining on Bangka and Belitung in Indonesia.
- Enough Project report, Taking Conflict Out of Consumer Gadgets: Company Rankings on Conflict Minerals 2012
- Reset, 2009 report on Corporate responsibility in Electronics sector, by European independent monitoring organisation Electronics Watch.
- How sustainable is your smartphone? – Guardian interactive resource, March 2014 – More than 40 elements used in smartphones are mined with untold environmental and social effects on every inhabited continent on earth.
Recent News – electronics
- An outstanding and inspiring series of Guardian weekly articles by Mark Boyle, the moneyless man, on living without technology. Experimenting with living free from the internet, television and all modern conveniences, Mark doesn’t pull punches, talks straight to the crisis we’re all in, and at the same time paints a picture of a challenging and real alternative. Feb – July 2017
- Apple faces $19b tax bill after European Union rules Ireland dealings illegal – “The European Commission has concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to 13 billion euros to Apple,” a commission statement said. – 30 August 2016
- Apple iPhone 7 might ditch 3.5mm headphone port in favour of ‘thinnest design yet’ – In order to shave an extra millimetre from the design of its next generation smartphone…. Express – 1 December 2015
- Dell to buy EMC in $67 billion record tech deal – Computer-maker Dell Inc to buy data storage company EMC Corp. Reuters – 12 October 2015
- US tech giants launch fierce fightback against global tax avoidance crackdown. Lobbyists representing firms including Google, Amazon and Apple claim ‘fundamental flaws’ in G20-led reforms. – Jan 2015
- Apple’s Broken Promises – BBC (Panorama) Documentary on Apple in China & Indonesia – 18 December 2014
- Smugglers go unpunished over ‘tsunami’ of toxic electronic waste – Sydney Morning Herald, 25 September 2014
- Is Apple cleaning up its act on labour rights? The Guardian 6 March 2014
- Wanted: an ethical tablet The Guardian April 2012
- There Are No Ethical Electronics, So Buy Less Stuff Good Magazine February 2012
Ah – technology!