Blogposts tagged 'Apple'

Apple's detox promise: close but not quite there yet

Mac fans in our office (and there are more than a few) were getting excited yesterday - we were expecting an announcement from MacWorld 2009 in San Francisco, confirming that Apple would as promised be removing all toxic PVC plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from its entire new product range.

Confidence was high that this was going to happen because we've had the word from the man himself - Apple CEO Steve Jobs - from as far back as May 2007 that toxic PVC and BFRs in Mac computers would be history by the end of 2008. His enthusiam for the subject, of course, initially stemmed from the success of our Green my Apple campaign, which generated huge support and discussion from Mac addicts worldwide.

I don't know what's made Apple post the iPhone 3G's Environmental Status Report but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Maybe Apple Chief Steve Jobs read my blog and decided to act before our scientists got their hands and screwdrivers on his latest phone. While the new iPhone has less polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR) than the original one, Apple has yet to eliminate these and other harmful substances like antimony, beryllium and phthalates.

Making phones without any PVC or BFR isn't a problem for Sony Ericsson and Nokia so why is Apple lagging behind? The iPhone in my opinion is a very stylish handset that scores high on usability and enjoys a cult following judging from the queues to buy it. It's a pity that it's not as green as the others when there's no reason why it couldn't be. Apple has promised to get rid of PVC and BFRs by the end of this year though. Let's see if they fulfil it.

This time last year Steve Jobs was ignoring our calls for a greener Apple, but yesterday he revealed the new MacBook Air – the thinnest notebook on the planet and Apple’s greenest computer so far.

It uses less brominated fire retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), but it hasn’t eliminated them entirely. Had it done so, it would have made Apple an ecological leader.

It's that time again; we've just released our latest quarterly Greener Electronics Guide, which ranks manufacturers on their toxics and recycling policies and practices.