Green my Apple, Steve

Feature story - 26 September, 2006
Here at Greenpeace, we love our Macs. But we hate the fact that they're full of toxic chemicals. And we know someone who can do something about it: you.

Does this belong to you? Apple e-waste in China.

We've seen the electronic graveyards in China and India where old electronic devices end up, Macs included.

We'veseen children waist-deep in cables, keyboards and circuit boardspicking through a soup of hazardous chemicals, including lead andmercury, to find components or bits of metal they can sell. We'veseen them breathing in dioxins as the PVC cables and casings burnaround them, watched them stop drinking from local wells polluted withheavy metals. Lives are being cut short for thousands of children inthe developing world exposed to dangerous chemicals.

That's not what Apple is all about.

Appleknows more about simple, "clean" design than any other computermanufacturer on the planet. You'd expect Apple to be the world leaderin clean environmental practice. But they're not.  Far from it.Apple products contain hazardous substances which other manufacturershave commited to stop using.  While Apple has introduced a limitedtake-back policy in the US, other companies have worldwide take-backand recycling programmes that are far better.

So who is going to make Apple change its ways?  You are.

Think different: Green my Apple

Wedecided to Think Different on this campaign.  We're not hangingbanners off the Apple HQ or using our ships to blockade their supplychain or bungy-jumping into the next MacWorld.

Because we knowa force that Apple listens to, and which can make Apple adopt cleanproduction policies and improve its recycling programmes. It's Apple'scustomers.

Apple listens to the people who buy their product: it's one of the things we all love about them. 

Andit's why we want you to run this campaign.  We want you to createthe campaign T-shirt, pen the speech in which Steve Jobs announces theGreening of Apple, shoot the Apple Ad that sets Cupertino talking aboutclean production and take-back schemes. The Green my Apple websitehas all the information and the raw materials you need to get youstarted.  If you're creative, create. If you're networked,network. There's plenty to do, and many hands make light work.

Come on, Steve. Be a hero for the planet.

Good products and good design ought to be good for theplanet. That's an Apple kind of attitude, isn't it? So have a word withSteve.  Let him know that you want clean ingredients in all Appleproducts. Let him know you want Apple to provide a free take-backprogram to reuse and recycle its products wherever they are sold -- andnot just in the US.

Tell him how much you love your Mac, and how badly you want it to be green.

Take Action

Visit the Green my Apple site. Take part with the all new Green My Apple products: ProCreate, iPush, and mAct!

Support us

Don't have time to participate in the campaign by shooting video or engaging creatively? Help us campaign for a green and peaceful planet by becoming a Greenpeace Supporter.

Categories