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Article

19 Sep 2013

Author:
Rich McEachran, Guardian (UK)

Could Fairphone help clean up supply chains in the smartphone market?

[B]oycotting the electronic giants has been seen as ineffective as there hasn't been a conflict-free alternative to turn to in protest...Fairphone is aiming to disrupt the status quo of the smartphone market...It started in 2010 as a campaign to create awareness of abuses in electronics supply chains. The Dutch social enterprise soon realised that creating a conflict-free smartphone was a tangible goal. Using existing initiatives such as Conflict-Free Tin Initiative and Solutions for Hope, it has managed to ensure sources of tin and tantalum are conflict-free and it's trying to be as transparent as possible throughout the supply chain, from the mines to the factories to the end user. It has even released a cost breakdown of where every pound is spent...Fairphone openly admits that its product isn't "100% ethical", but is proud of the fact that it is putting people and social values first...[Refers to Apple, Nokia, Samsung, Twitter]