As managing editor of The electronics industry is starting to go green, according to Greenpeace International -- and in their case, "green" means free from PVC and brominated flame retardants, among other things.
Greenpeace released its fifth annual Guide to Greener Electronics today, noting that the electronics industry is making "great improvements."
Since the guide was launched, many more products free from PVC (vinyl) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are now available. A year ago, only Nokia and Sony Ericsson sold mobile phones free of one or both, now Motorola and [LG Electronics] do too. Sony has also added a wide range of products including models of the VAIO notebook, Walkman, camcorders and digital camera that are partially BFR and PVC free. Panasonic lists examples of PVC free products that include DVD players, home cinemas, video players and lighting, and two BFR-free models of lighting.
For the record, Nokia placed No. 1 on Greenpeace's report card, followed by Sony Ericsson.
Some Plastics News blog readers won't be happy that I'm citing Greenpeace today, and I understand that point of view. But clearly, the group has clout in the electronics industry, as we saw in May when Apple Inc. pledged to improve its environmental record after coming under heavy fire from environmentalists. Even if you disagree with Greenpeace, you should pay attention to what it is trying to do.