View this article at: http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/10/26/greenpeace.shown.the.door/
Thursday, Oct 26, 2006 12:50pm
Greenpeace forced out of Mac Expo
Greenpeace's 'Green my Apple' stall today was shut down at the start of MacExpo in London by event organizers who claim they received complaints from unnamed sources. Greenpeace set up the stall in an attempt to raise awareness about concerns over the use of toxic chemicals in Apple's products. The Greenpeace volunteers manning the stall were signing up Mac fans to challenge Apple to 'go green,' according to the organization. Flyers explaining the Green my Apple campaign were handed out to members of the public along with organic green apples. The volunteers have vowed to return to the expo tomorrow to continue the campaign.

"This reaction is totally over-the-top" said Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace International campaigner at the expo. "Apple refuses to address our criticisms on their products, both for the recycling and for the use of harmful chemicals. Instead of hiding their head in the sand, Apple should be a world leader in the greening of the electronics industry, not lagging behind," Kruszewska added.

Greenpeace released an environmental report in late August rating Apple as a 2.7 out of 10 with low scores in almost all criteria -- which included the use of toxic chemicals, recycling, and quality of take-back programs.

"It's time for Apple to use clean components in all of its products and to provide a free take-back program to reuse and recycle its products wherever they are sold. We are challenging the world leader in design to also be a world leader in environmental innovation. We challenge Apple to have a product range on the market by 2007 which is free of the worst toxic chemicals," Kruszewska concluded.