iPhone? Ethics in Electronics

Generic mirror selfie with my new iPhone 5c

Almost as bad as jean shopping and swimsuitshopping, shopping for a new cell phone can be quite the daunting experience.

They’re expensive, they tend to alwaysbreak (perhaps from dropping them one too many times without a fancy case), they don’t do water well (unless a really fancycase exists around it), and yet they are so necessary to the life I lead. Currentlymy phone provides me with the resources to check my class schedule and seewhere all my classes are, find out when the bus is coming so I can get toToronto and back to Hamilton, I can read the Bible, snap fun photos, edit them, then post them to share with friends and family as a little peek into my lifesince a majority of them live at least 2,000 kilometers away.

While the pros definitely outweigh the consof owning a cellular device—especially one of the ‘smart phone’ variety, theidea of buying a new one always comes with the added thought of ‘how can Ipurchase one of these things ethically?’

A while back I had found online the FairPhone. My heart leaped for joy when I discovered there was anethically sourced phone actually available for the world to use! Unfortunately,the phone is currently only available in Europe and doesn’t ship to Canada.Even if it did, the capabilities are slightly less, as it wasn’t designed foruse here.

Does this make me sad?

Of course! The opportunity to buy a phonecreated by using conflict-free minerals from the DRC that support families,factories that support safe conditions, a company who gives fair wages andworker representation, who finds smart ways to use, reuse and recycle phones…This is a company who lives out the ideals I so desperately want to be part ofmy every day life—that we need to make informed decisions about the products wepurchase so we can part of bringing people up and not dragging them down.

Let’s be honest, I bought an iPhone. The 5c, to be exact. I got an epic deal (free, thanks Rogers) and it is compatible with my MacBook Pro, my husbands phone (yay for FaceTime, since we both travel somewhat often and not always together) and good ol’ iMessenger. In terms of usefulness, the iPhone wins in my books. So here I am, sitting at my laptop while myiPhone 5c sits beside me notifying me of a recent text message while I long forit to the FairPhone (with all the capabilities of my iPhone that make it sodarn convenient). I can’t help but think of all the people in the massive lineups just last week who, without a second thought, purchased the iPhone 6 andiPhone 6 plus. People don’t even flinch when it comes to dropping large sums ofcash to purchase the latest phones and other tech products—especially thosefrom the world’s beloved Apple.

But what if people did consider what theywere supporting with their money before they spent it? According to theCanadian Apple store, the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus range in price from$749 to $1079. As shockingly large these numbers are to me (the idea of payingeven $129 for an iPhone 5s was too much for me to handle), I know there areenough people in the world who look at those prices and don’t even flinch or think about if that’s where their money should be going. But the questionis, what if they did? What if they did take a moment, and before swiping theircredit card they thought, ‘who actually makes this thing?’

I was the most pumped, as someone who knowsthere isn’t a lot of information out there on ethics on the electronics world,to find that my treasured Free2Work has recently released an Electronics Industry Trends 2014 report. What I love about these reports is, if you takethe time to actually read through them, you are presented with so muchinformation on slavery in the different parts of makeup of electronics frommining the minerals to putting together the final pieces in factories.Information like this had previously been unknown to most people and now, theinformation is readily available at the click of mouse.

Click the image to enlarge!

As a society whose basic functions areinterwoven with the electronics we can’t imagine being parted from, it isimportant and vital to our ever-deepening relationship with them to be educatedon how they are produced. The worlds cherished Apple has an overall score of B+and does not provide a living wage to those who make their products. Societywill pay $749 for a phone whose makers don’t even make a living wage. If that statementdoesn’t make you question the phone sitting beside you or the phone you arereading this on, perhaps read it again and really think about what that lookslike. Do you think the individuals working in the Foxconn Factory in Chinarealize it would take over 3 months of their salary* to purchase the leastexpensive version of the latest released phone? While I’m not trying to bash Apple (honestly, their B+ grade is one of thebetter ones by an electronics company, comparatively), for myself, it’s hard toset these facts aside, especially when I was looking for a new phone to purchase.

I want to continually live a lifestylewhere I practice what I preach. When people question me about what I own, I want tobe able to stand up for my decision in the company I have chosen to support.Knowing options like the FairPhone exist is exciting based on my expectancythat if one company can do it and is doing it, others will follow suit. What weneed now is for individuals like you and I to say to Apple 'we care and wantan option, like the Fair Phone, to purchase with our hard earned dollars!' It’snot just Apple we need to approach, so many other companies are doing worsethan Apple and to them we need to say the same thing. If one company is doingit, they all can. Perhaps I’ll find the $749 worth it for a phone that isethically produced and save my money to purchase a phone I can use withconfidence knowing the impact of the product is positive and not destructive toall those involved.

My challenge to you: Take just 5 minutes ofyour time and take a look at Free2Works Electronics Industry Trends report andsee where the company of your mobile phone and computer sit.  Share this information with someone and starta conversation on how you can use your purchasing power to change the waycompanies produce their products.

* $238 monthly salary found here.