iPhone doesn’t yet come in green

Greener Apple Greenpeace and Apple have a rocky relationship at best. The environmental organization has taken Apple to task for what it sees as a lack of commitment to “green” practices, an allegation that Apple has firmly rebutted. And though Greenpeace raised its marks on Apple after Steve Jobs’s open letter on the environment, that undercurrent of environmental tension has yet to dissipate.

Now, Greenpeace is back on the attack with a report detailing the use of hazardous chemicals in the construction of the iPhone (PDF link). PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFR) top the list of materials that Greenpeace has criticized Apple for including in the device: PVC, for example, is used to make a small percentage of the casing for the headphone cable, while BFRs are contained in the iPhone’s antenna circuit board. Both have been linked to heath risks.

How do Apple’s competitors stack up? According to Greenepeace, Nokia makes PVC-free devices, while Sony Ericsson and Motorola have pledged to eliminate BFRs.

Now, BFRs and PVC were both mentioned specifically by Jobs in his open letter, in which he wrote: “Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008.” With such a public avowal, Apple would be nuts not to follow through. Though I’m somewhat more skeptical of Greenpeace’s suggestion of a takeback program for existing iPhone models.

Oh good, something else early adopters get to pay for: hazardous chemicals.

[via Macworld UK]

Category: News

Posted by Dan Moren on Oct 15 2007, 11:41 AM ET

Comments (7)

Does Nokia include headphones (where the PVC is found in the iPhone)? And Sony Ericsson and Motorola and Apple have all pleged to eliminate BFRs (where's Nokia in that list?).

In other words, the iPhone stacks up very well.

Posted by Dave-O | October 15, 2007 11:53 AM

so our iphones are going to give us cancer and pollute the enviornment? great...

Posted by jim | October 15, 2007 2:20 PM

Does greenpeace actually DO anything beyond grabbing headlines and demanding that everyone follow its agenda. They should merge with PETA, they're about as relevant.

Posted by John C. Welch | October 15, 2007 5:22 PM

Greenpeace is like the camel -- once it gets its nose in the tent, the rest of the body is coming and to heck with the consequences.

Seeriously, trying to please them is impossible, because the demands shift. Jobs is probably the greenest CEO in America, but, to them, the bottom line is he's still a CEO.

Posted by Charles C | October 15, 2007 8:57 PM

If greenpeace does not like it . I LIKE IT!!!!!
http://blogdolci.com/2007/10/15/video-del-mio-nuovo-iphone-apple/

Posted by blogdolci | October 16, 2007 2:00 AM

I can't wait until computers are made out of lawn clippings and discarded beer bottles.

Posted by jim l | October 16, 2007 10:05 AM

Well I use my own headphones (which I doubt I should ingest) so that's off the menu. I'll have to remember to avoid taking apart the iPhone and eating the parts for the rest.

And I was so looking forward to dining on an antenna tonight.

Sigh.

Posted by mgabrys | October 17, 2007 3:02 AM

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