UK nonprofit Ethical Consumer recently published shopping guide for smartphones, laptops, and desktops. Its researchers considered factors like:
- the presence of conflict minerals (tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold) in electronic components
- the use of toxic chemicals (polyvinyl chloride, brominated flame retardants, and phthalates), which harm workers and communities around e-waste dumps
- the planned obsolescence and limits to repair built into many tech products, to deliberately make it hard for users to keep their devices for long periods
The clear winner is the iameco D4R, which scores 12 points out of a possible 20 – three points ahead of the number 2 choice, the similarly limited-scale VeryPC. What makes iameco so much better than the competition? These computers, which are encased in recycled wood, including furniture offcuts, look different to other PCs. But the differences aren’t just cosmetic; the aim is to make them simple to repair and recycle, with components that can easily be swapped out. The devices are also free from harmful chemicals like brominated flame retardants. And according to the manufacturer, the iameco D4R accounts for at least 30% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and 75% less freshwater use compared to standard laptops.
Yet this environmental responsibility hasn’t come with a massive price tag. The iameco D4R sells for €850 ($945). In comparison, laptops from Samsung, which receive Ethical Consumer’s lowest score, range from $400 to $2,000 at the company’s site. (It would be useful to have rankings of technical specifications alongside ethical ones.)
Having a small scale helps with certain ethical dimensions. Unlike the multinational companies like Huawei and Google, iameco and VeryPC aren’t likely to dodge tax. Among the companies with more name recognition, Apple and Lenovo are recommended by Ethical Consumer (though not best buys like iameco and VeryPC).
Yet VeryPC, the overall #2 laptop, has among the worst scores for conflict minerals and toxic chemicals. Even the celebrated iameco is among the worst offenders for supply chain management, which incorporates workers’ rights across the long networks that assemble digital products. The company has also been criticized in the past for using endangered wood. But according to Jose Ospina, a project manager for parent company MicroPro Computers, “The woods used by iameco are Maple, Oak, and Beech. Only wood from Irish sustainable forest is used.”
For 2-in-1 laptops specifically, which combine the functionality of laptops and tablets, the ASUS Transformer has the highest yet still-not-stellar score, at 8.5/20. For desktop computers, iameco again comes out on top, with its V3 model. HP, which ranks near the top for 2-in-1s, and near the bottom for desktops and laptops, has claimed that it’s attempting to increase the proportion of recycled plastic across its product lines.
Of course, it’s useful to keep in mind that thoughtful shopping decisions can help limit damage to rights and environments, but they’re only a portion of the big picture. For one thing, combatting consumerism is ultimately the greenest consumer choice. Ethical Consumer’s broad recommendations are for consumers to hold onto their devices for as long as they’re usable, attempt to repair them when they break down, and buy secondhand items where possible.
Moreover, these kinds of individual choices pale in comparison to major structural ones. As a news article in the November/December 2019 issue of the Ethical Consumer magazine reminds readers, “while individual consumer choices will be able to play an important part in tackling climate change, they will never be enough on their own. We need people to join together into movements and leverage the power to shift corporations and governments.”
