Greenpeace is a kind of b/w thing for many people. They either dig it or they don't. I just started working there. First task was to translate Green My Apple into Danish. That went down pretty well, I think. Now, this campaign probably triggers something quite common amongst the Greenpeace haters out there. Why bash Apple? Isn't that just some media humping stunt as usual. Apple can't possibly be the worst environmental issue - far from.
My answer to that: Yes, Apple isn't the biggest issue, and yes, it's a good target because of media attention. But that's not the purpose of the campaign, and people saying that have completely misunderstood everything. Now, the big issue is: E-waste. Now THAT'S actually a big problem. And Greenpeace wants to help solve that problem, but that's very difficult since the producers of E-waste are so numerous. We have to start somewhere.
One thing that could be done about this: Innovation. We need better products free from chemicals that make them dangerous when being disposed of. Secondly we need products with a long life cycle. That means iPods capable of upgrading.
But another part-solution to the problem is called producer responsibility. Since it's not being legally enforced in more than a handful of European countries, it's up to Greenpeace to push for more legislation and voluntary producer responsibility. We need manufacturers to implement full product take-back in order to have an economic incitement for making recyclable products.
Apple's part in all this? They HAVE to push forward. E-waste is a giant problem. We need action, and since other companies are actually pushing forward, we want to stimulate Apple to join the competition. So far Greenpeace has come up with Guide To Clean Electronics. This creates some sort of economic incitement for becoming cleaner at least. But work will continue, and hopefully soon people will see the purpose of Green My Apple in more than just words of encouragement.
