Greenpeace Says PCs May Have to Follow Apple's Footsteps
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California 
on 10.24.08
Photo via The Show Must Go On
In an odd twist, Greenpeace is giving the thumbs up to Apple for their ever-greener products, and thinks that PCs would be wise to follow suit.
Now, Apple usually doesn’t do much to make Greenpeace smile. In fact, the two have often thrown punches at one another, which has been well covered on TreeHugger. So for Greenpeace to give praise, they must really mean it. And it gives a bit of extra clout to Apple’s green claims.
But what is all this about PCs lagging behind?
"While Apple and other top electronic companies still face many challenges on the road to truly green electronics, it can only be a good thing to see a top CEO and high profile a public figure as Steve Jobs devoting significant time to environmental concerns at Apple," the environmental group said in a statement today.
This was in response to Apple’s environmental report update. In it, the removal of toxic materials from products by the end of 2008 is listed as a goal that Apple is on track to achieve.
While the report looks at recycling, lowering emissions and a whole lot of other key elements to green products, eliminating toxic materials is what Greenpeace has honed in on:
"This will be a first for a computer maker and lays down the challenge to competitors such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Toshiba," the group said. "If Apple has solved the challenges involved, there's no excuse for any of these companies not to follow Apple's lead on toxic chemicals elimination now and not wait until the end of 2009."
All the companies mentioned have pledged the same thing at the end of 2009. And while I agree that the sooner the better, the fact that they’re on track, and there is pressure for them to stay on track, is pretty great. It takes some time to make these changes.
But if they don’t follow suit by December 31, 2009, well, beware the wrath of Greenpeace.
Via ComputerWorld
More on Apple and Greenpeace:
Video: Fake Apple Steve Jobs Keynote by Greenpeace
Greenpeace Calls For A Greener Apple
“Rotten to the Core”: Greenpeace Finds Laptops Still Ripe with Toxins
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
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I like Apple's initiatives towards taking care of some of these problems, but Apple still seems like a good example for the sort of company described in 'The Story of Stuff'.
One of Apple's major reasons for growing is their marketing strategy of planned/perceived obsolescence. They are always releasing a 'new' version of their product that upstages the previous one, and they continuously send a message that if you don't have the 'latest' you are being left in the dust.
Don't even get me started about replacing the batteries in your iPod or MacBook Air.
Granted, all companies have an iterative cycle where they release enhancements to existing products and even create new ones. With Apple, however, it definitely seems that their marketing strategy strongly focuses on that perceived obsolescence feeling among their fanbase.
I do not plan to buy an Apple products. My 3+ year-old HP laptop still works fine for me. In fact, I haven't even noticed any targeted advertising by HP to get me to buy a new one. Imagine that.
It is good to see one of the two powers to step up and really start the green innovation in their products. Of course we know that pc will be quick to follow as to not lose out on some market share.
Their products might be "green", but what about the packaging? Have you seen the packaging on the iPod Touch? A big plastic exterior surround the product and its content, and it's clear so you can see inside. It's not even a snug fit, the plastic extends over a very large area around it.
And since iMacs aren't easy components to fix yourself, one thing wrong could mean tossing it out, or replacing a lot of other things. So much for green.
Nick, that's an excellent observation. However, I think in practice this just means that people pass their "obsolete" Macs on to other people who are content being off the cutting edge. Just look at the economics: Macs retain value better than PCs do. Check out even 4 year-old models on eBay – they still command a hefty price. That means they'll see more serviceable time before being recycled/landfilled. There's usually local Mac repair places (at least in the USA) that will accept old or broken Macs. They use the parts to fix customers' computers.
I'm still rocking with my first-gen MacBook. Upgraded the RAM and the hard disk, and I'm perfectly content with it. Sure the new one mine look like it's from the Stone Age, but this one suits me just fine.