Apple Investigating Indonesian Tin Production for Illegal Mining

[MacRumors]

Apple has updated the Supplier Responsibility page on its website addressing concerns over the illegal mining of tin in Indonesia.

The company is initiating a new task group with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) to determine if its suppliers are getting tin from illegal mining operations.

Bangka Island, Indonesia, is one of the world's principal tin-producing regions. Recent concerns about the illegal mining of tin from this region prompted Apple to lead a fact-finding visit to learn more. Using the information we've gathered, Apple initiated an EICC working group focused on this issue, and we are helping to fund a new study on mining in the region so we can better understand the situation.

The Verge, which first noticed the change, noted that 249 of Apple's suppliers use tin in the production of its products. In an article last year, Bloomberg Businessweek looked at the collapse of a tin-mining pit on Bangka island that killed a number of miners in a landslide --one-third of the world's tin production comes from the area.

In recent years, Apple has stepped up its examinations of suppliers, issuing yearly Supplier Responsibility Reports and in 2013 fired one of its Chinese suppliers for child labor violations.

Article Link: Apple Investigating Indonesian Tin Production for Illegal Mining

 

[voyagerd]

Introducing the new Tin MacBook Pro!

 

[usersince86]

Very glad to see them taking these issues seriously... people are always more valuable than products.

Always.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

Translation: Apple has found a way to convert the decimation of the environment (ever seen a smelter?) and the exploitation of starving children for the production of disposable sparklies (for the temporary amusement of the first world, natch) into free advertising about how incredibly socially responsible they are.

lol please go home and burn your house down. everything in there was built off of starving children and/or exploitation of natural resources.

 

[koruki]

Nice to see Apple investigatING instead of investigatED in the headlines for a change.

 

[Dirtfarmer]

lol please go home and burn your house down. everything in there was built off of starving children and/or exploitation of natural resources.

I see.

All exploitation and environmental destruction is therefore inherently ethical.

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[koruki]

lol please go home and burn your house down. everything in there was built off of starving children and/or exploitation of natural resources.

that's be polluting lol

 

[Harrycooke]

Who cares why they're doing it? They are still making an effort to responsible sourcing and that's what matters.

 

[TheHateMachine]

lol please go home and burn your house down. everything in there was built off of starving children and/or exploitation of natural resources.

Considering his handle in Macrumours is "Dirtfarmer", can you be 100% absolutely sure of that?

----------

And you probably live in a tent, because you sold all your property to help these poor people, eh?

His name is Dirtfarmer after all...

 

[cssbutton]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]

Image​

Apple has updated the Supplier Responsibility page on its website addressing concerns over the illegal mining of tin in Indonesia. The company is funding a new task group with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) to determine if its suppliers are getting tin from illegal mining operations.
The Verge, which first noticed the change, noted that 249 of Apple's suppliers use tin in the production of its products. In an article last year, Bloomberg Businessweek looked at the collapse of a tin-mining pit on Bangka island that killed a number of miners in a landslide --one-third of the world's tin production comes from the area.

In recent years, Apple has stepped up its examinations of suppliers, issuing yearly Supplier Responsibility Reports and in 2013 fired one of its Chinese suppliers for child labor violations.

Article Link: Apple Investigating Indonesian Tin Production for Illegal Mining

i am glad apple is taking this good move

 

[SoAnyway]

Forget the iWatch, how about Apple comes out with the iTinfoilhat?

 

[rei101]

It may be a way to clean Apple's name after failing the eBook issue.

 

[Ryth]

Very glad to see them taking these issues seriously... people are always more valuable than products.

Always.

Not Always.

Sorry dude...there are some people that aren't even worth more than the dirt in the ground. They are dredges to humanity and society and are beyond reform or redemption.

There's one of these right now on trial in Boston.

 

[nagromme]

I know how this story goes...

1. Apple uncovers problem without waiting for public outcry.

2. Apple publicly announces problem of their own volition, along with specific plans to solve it.

3. Apple follows up publicly on how those plans have progressed.

4. Apple competitors have the same problem, but ignore it, cover it up, or make vague statements not backed up by action.

5. Greenpeace or other group misguidedly places blame on Apple while giving the competitors a free pass. (The Apple name is good for headlines.) This in turn gives honest environmentalists and human rights activists, working for vital causes, a bad name (thus hurting the very cause they intend to support).

6. Media and bloggers bash Apple for causing the problem and call for a boycott (which would only drive business to the competitors who encourage the problem).

7. Everyone is falsely led to believe that Apple only acted after public outcry. (And that other companies never had the problem at all.)

8. Apple gets little credit from the media and bloggers for actually being the one to step up and spend money, in the full light of public disclosure, to improve something important.

9. Astroturfers have a new talking point for the week.

10. Issue is forgotten. Apple continues to improve it anyway. Competitors keep on as always.

 

[LarryC]

I might be wrong here, but I do not believe that it is right or correct to judge every other country in the world by what are currently american standards. For instance, there was a mention of apple firing a supplier because they were using child labor. That sounds really great on the surface, but is it really? What if those jobs were the only option for those children and without those jobs the children simply starve to death.

 

[goobot]

Why exactly is it illegal?

 

[FrozenDarkness]

I see.

All exploitation and environmental destruction is therefore inherently ethical.

Thank you for clarifying.

Image

this is confusing, i understand i was strawmaning you because your argument was ignorant, but i'd assume even you can see the sarcasm in the remark. Put your moneyw here your mouth is, if you have problems against exploitation, don't support it

every

single

day.


although it'd be hard considering there is no computer i know of that doesn't use some sort of chip solder probably made from tin in indonnesia.

 

[needfx]

lol please go home and burn your house down. everything in there was built off of starving children and/or exploitation of natural resources.

I see.

All exploitation and environmental destruction is therefore inherently ethical.

Thank you for clarifying.

Image

this is confusing, i understand i was strawmaning you because your argument was ignorant, but i'd assume even you can see the sarcasm in the remark. Put your moneyw here your mouth is, if you have problems against exploitation, don't support it

every

single

day.


although it'd be hard considering there is no computer i know of that doesn't use some sort of chip solder probably made from tin in indonnesia.

who needs soap-operas when we have macrumors

 

[hrl]

I'm from Bangka island. There are definately a lot of illegal minings. The gov seems do not care much about the destruction of local habitats and the increasingly bad water quality. You can see how the mining industry has destroyed much of the island when you are flying into Bangka.

There is a law that states that you cannot clean the tin on land, so they wash the tin on the sea, near the beach.

You can find this trend not only in Bangka but all over Indonesia.

 

[osaga]

I saw that photo and got real excited that Apple had discovered a new element to make iphones out of. The article was much more depressing.

 

[macs4nw]

I know how this story goes...

1. Apple uncovers problem without waiting for public outcry.

2. Apple publicly announces problem of their own volition, along with specific plans to solve it.

3. Apple follows up publicly on how those plans have progressed.

4. Apple competitors have the same problem, but ignore it, cover it up, or make vague statements not backed up by action.

5. Greenpeace or other group misguidedly places blame on Apple while giving the competitors a free pass. (The Apple name is good for headlines.) This in turn gives honest environmentalists and human rights activists, working for vital causes, a bad name (thus hurting the very cause they intend to support).

6. Media and bloggers bash Apple for causing the problem and call for a boycott (which would only drive business to the competitors who encourage the problem).

7. Everyone is falsely led to believe that Apple only acted after public outcry. (And that other companies never had the problem at all.)

8. Apple gets little credit from the media and bloggers for actually being the one to step up and spend money, in the full light of public disclosure, to improve something important.

9. Astroturfers have a new talking point for the week.

10. Issue is forgotten. Apple continues to improve it anyway. Competitors keep on as always.

Infuriatingly true! When you're #1, you're an easy scapegoat and are held to higher standards. It's lonely at the top.

 

[DisMyMac]

Remember Man's first tool was a femur, which he used to attack his fellow ape-man for a drink.... Have we come any further in 2 million years?

 

[gnasher729]

It may be a way to clean Apple's name after failing the eBook issue.

No, they will clear their name when the next higher court with a competent judge has to look at a case. The destruction caused by Amazon is clear for everybody to see.

----------

Why exactly is it illegal?

Just guessing: Like most things, mining tin can be done in a way that is clean and expensive, or cheap and dirty. If you do it cheap and dirty, you make a lot of profit and the dirt destroys the health and livelihood of your neighbours; plus you drive the companies that do it in a clean and expensive way without causing environmental damage out of business.

Since the country where this happens doesn't benefit if one company makes a million profit by causing ten millions in damages (to other people in the same country), it is made illegal.

In addition, that kind of business is very strongly against Apple's published principles, so it doesn't really matter whether it is legal or illegal; Apple would avoid doing business with them anyway. Like with employment situations, where Apple requires contractors to avoid things that Apple deems unacceptable, whether they are legal in that country or not.

----------

I might be wrong here, but I do not believe that it is right or correct to judge every other country in the world by what are currently american standards. For instance, there was a mention of apple firing a supplier because they were using child labor. That sounds really great on the surface, but is it really? What if those jobs were the only option for those children and without those jobs the children simply starve to death.

That idiotic opinion has come up and was refuted again and again. For a start, if your argument was right then by hiring a fifteen year old, that company would save a 15 year old but would be damning a 16 year old to starvation. In reality, there could be siblings, 15 and 16 year old, and the company hired the 15 year old to pay them less so that the family is actually worse off. Next, this is China; people are poor in many areas but not starving to death. Next, that 15 year old hasn't finished school, so by hiring him before he's got an education you are damning him to a life in poverty instead of giving him a chance to finish school and rising up. And last, it's illegal in China. So you are saying politicians in China are convicting the children of their country to starvation?

 

[lagisibuk]

I'm so sad to hear this new

 

[M-O]

Illegal tin is the best kind of tin.