Look for the logo.
Did you know that the minerals in many devices come from war zones and places with no environmental controls or worker safety?
(I'm looking at you Apple.)
well good luck with that lol
It like recycling.
At least someone is talking about it and every little bit helps.
If countries in Africa where many of the resources are mined to make raw materials for electronics were rewarded fairly for the amount of contribution their materials have made to the tech industry, then those countries would be wealthy.
It is the same scenario in many countries where cheap labor is also taken for granted by the consumer. Sadly with consumer electronics it is virtually impossible for the average consumer to make a stand, but a way to avoid participating in conflict free electronics is to recycle and up-cycle existing materials which we have no further use for and that can be turned into new products.
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And what about it? Just because it comes from somewhere you don't like, doesn't make it any less of a good product.
That is completely not the point. The point is we are poisoning the "3rd" world so we in the "1st" world can have shiny new gadgets. It's not whether the products are good or not.
To quote Black Dynamite:
"People don't want to see you kill a cow. They just want their steak on a plate. Can You Dig It?"
Well it's high time we look in the kitchen to see what they are serving us.
Honestly, I understand what your point is. I just don't care. Until there's an actual fully capable way of changing where or how we get what we want, I'll keep on keeping on. And, sure, I'll chip in to support the initiative, but I won't follow it until it's refined.
What it boils down to is companies will always choose the cheapest way to do anything until they are FORCED to make changes.
If companies have to buy minerals from the USA instead of Africa, they won't... until it benefits them or they are penalized for breaking a law.
If China has to raise prices because they have to implement environmental controls or worker safety, they won't... until the market refuses to buy stuff from them.
I am glad you are willing to chip in your support. The first step in fixing a problem is knowing that it exists.
Now that I know, if I am comparing 2 items, I will choose the one with a Conflict Free logo on it.
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Agreed. If there is an alternative for a product I am interested in, I will. Unfortunately, I've not seen very much available yet. So, until then, I guess keeping an eye out is always a good idea.
You know not all companies are evil. A lot of them do certain things to help people. For example if they buy from a cheaper place that means they can maybe hire more labors to work in there factories or whatever and create new jobs. Sure you might be hurting someone along the line but you are helping out your own people by giving them jobs. Also there usually inst any sort of other option. Thats the mine where blank comes from its the only one and its run by war lords. You cant say fuck em we wont buy bc then they will just sell to the next guy and they wont see any money loss. Now lets say all the companies say fuck em we want change and they do change and the price of that material goes up 500% then what? well you have to lay off workers raise prices people are going to be pissed. So companies say its a shit spot but it helps us and the people who work for us and thats what we are going to care about. They are not all out to get you they have their priorities of who they want to make happy.