AppleInsider Staff
In a recent update to its Supplier Responsibility webpage, Apple revealed that concerns over use of illegally mined tin its products has prompted the company to lead a fact-finding mission in Indonesia.
First spotted by The Verge, Apple added a brief paragraph to its Supplier Responsibility webpage, explaining that "recent concerns" over illegal tin mining in Bangka Island, Indonesia called for a fact-finding visit to the region.
In addition, the company also set up a specialized environmental working group with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) to deal with the issue. Apple is also helping to fund a new study on mining in the region to "better understand the situation."
The EICC's mission statement says the body was created to "enable companies to improve the social and environmental conditions in the global electronics supply chain." Members are required to comply with guideline set forth by the EICC bylaws.
According to Apple, 249 of its suppliers use tin in their products, which source the metal from 64 tin smelters. The company notes that the smelter list is constantly changing.
It is unclear what products contain the potentially illegally mined tin, though a bulk of Apple's devices contain the metal.
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15 Comments
Can't remember the last time any other manufacturer admitted to anything negative without being outed first. Just one more reason to by Apple products.
[quote name="bcode" url="/t/158457/apple-addresses-concerns-over-products-using-illegally-mined-tin#post_2360787"]Can't remember the last time any other manufacturer admitted to anything negative without being outed first. Just one more reason to by Apple products.[/quote] Other then the protest a few days ago complaining about the illegally mined tin used in Apple products.
The protest was about "conflict" minerals from the Congo. Get an atlas.
[quote name="Gazoobee" url="/t/158457/apple-addresses-concerns-over-products-using-illegally-mined-tin#post_2360798"] The protest was about "conflict" minerals from the [B]Congo[/B]. Get an atlas. [/quote] The whole problem with the idea of "conflict minerals" is that effectively you as a company are taking sides in a dispute. Often there is not enough context with respect to the conflict to know which side to take. Apple should either stay out of the area completely or simply ignore the concept of conflict materials.
Indeed. That still doesn't make the Congo a part of Indonesia however.