Greenpeace attacks Apple over iPhone

Leads to lawsuit

16 October 2007 7:41 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Greenpeace has published a detailed report on the un-environmentally friendly qualities of Apple's iPhone, which has led to the company being sued.

The Center for Environmental Health is suing Apple based on the Greenpeace research. In California, products containing certain toxins or carcinogens must carry a warning label. The iPhone does not.

"In general what we try to do is encourage the manufacturers through a negotiated settlement to reduce the use of these chemicals", said Caroline Cox, a spokeswoman for the Center for Environmental Health. "That would be our goal with Apple."

Apple had announced earlier this year that all of its new products would be free from brominated flame retardants and the chlorinated plastic polyvinyl chloride by the end of 2008.

To see if Apple was keeping its promise on hazardous chemicals and materials, Greenpeace bought an iPhone in the States and had it analysed in laboratories in the UK.

The results revealed that the iPhone contains PVC and brominated flame retardants which Greenpeace says shows Apple is not making early progress towards its 2008 commitment to phase-out all uses of these materials, even in entirely new product lines.

"If Apple really wants to reinvent the phone, it needs to design out all hazardous substances and materials from its handsets and peripherals", states the report.

"Apple missed a key opportunity when it rolled out the iPhone in June. There is no reason why the iPhone could not have been made without toxins like vinyl plastics and brominated flame retardants as Nokia is already doing", said Rick Hind of Greenpeace.

STORY UPDATE : Apple has got in touch with Pocket-lint to give us a brief statement on this matter, which is as follows:

"Like all Apple products worldwide, iPhone complies with RoHS, the world's toughest restrictions on toxic substances in electronics. As we have said, Apple will voluntarily eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs by the end of 2008."