The Cleanest Tech Providers; who's not on the list?

Posted by Alice Kahrmann at 01:57 | 0 comments

So last week I had a bit of a rant about Apple, but I stand behind what I said. If any technology company or start up wants to succeed these days they have to pay attention to the ethics of their brand. Consumers will no longer be sidelined by the shabby politics of profit before ecology. I for one am going for an Apple cleanse; no I’m not going to throw out all my Apple products, but I am going to commit (dear God) to not buying any more until the company seriously overhauls its ethics. 
Now I briefly mentioned the issue of music sharing last week – are you are most probably aware ladies and gentlemen, when you’re ‘buying’ a song from ITunes, what you’re actually doing is ‘leasing it’. This was the first thing on actor Bruce Willis’s mind when he was sorting out his last will and testament (way in advance we hope). He brought to light an issue that had somehow swept under the radar; what happens to our music collection when we die? Not just our music; our books, videos, any digital material bought through ITunes; yes even your Sex and the City collection (series 1 through seven). Beware ladies and gentlemen, you don’t own this material. 
Cybergirl spent the weekend browsing old bookshops and what did she find? Or rediscover? The soft weathered edge of a paperback, the inscriptions inside, the faded paper the colour of caramel – the smell, the bargain buckets; ten for a pound. Now I know this is sacrilege, but is a digital version really better? At least the books I bought will remain at home, on a shelf, to be regifted one day far into the future… 
But then on the other hand there’s the immediacy of downloading that provides such great unutterable joy; I went to a literary festival, heard the wondrous Hanif Kureishi talk - I neglected to buy his book. Several days later I hankered after the strong simple prose of his novel Intimacy, seconds later there it was lighting up my IPad…
The debate rages on…
On another note I said last week that I would have a delve into more ethical technology providers…. 
The challenge a company faces in creating ‘ethical’ hardware is harder than first thought. Why? Because at the heart of the issue is the supply chain – tech companies are dependent on a myriad of small parts manufacturers and policing these companies is difficult - but crucially not impossible of course, if ethics is the priority, rather than the afterthought.
Let’s stat with Covalence, a company that tracks the ethical reputation of mutlinationals. Their yearly report, which was until 2010 made available to the public went something like this:

1. 1.  IBM
   2. Intel Corp
   3. Cisco Systems Inc.
   4. HSBC Holdings
   5. Unilever 6. Marks & Spencer
   7. General Electric
   8. PepsiCo Inc.
   9. Xerox
   10. Dell Inc.